Extraction and characterization of nanocellulose from mahang wood

In this study, an improved approach for production and characterization of regenerated celluloses from mahang wood is proposed. The purpose of this research is to extract cellulose from mahang (Macaranga gigantea) wood and convert the extracted cellulose (MCC) to nanocellulose using ionic liquid pretreatment. 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride (BMIMCl) was used to treat cellulose that has been extracted from mahang wood. Three different regenerated celluloses were obtained from the different weight ratio of celluloses treated with BMIMCl (2 wt %, 5 wt % and 8 wt %). X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared analysis (FTIR), field emission-scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) were used to characterize the structural, morphological and thermal properties of celluloses and also the regenerated celluloses samples. The results of characterizations indicated that 2 wt % of regenerated celluloses with the highest amount of ionic liquid used obtained high crystallinity compared to 5 wt % and 8 wt % regenerated celluloses. Hence, from all of the characterizations of regenerated celluloses, only 2 wt % regenerated celluloses can be correlate to the real properties and characteristics of nanocellulose (NCCs).