Structural and thermal characterization of cellulose and copper oxide modified cellulose obtained from bamboo plant fibre

Cellulose and their modified forms are important materials for various applications including surface coatings, food and drug formulations, and confectioneries and as intermediates for other chemical products. This study focuses on the non-conventional production of cellulose from abundant bamboo plant and the structural effects arising from modifications of the obtained cellulose. The bamboo fibre was treated with alkali and bleached to produce cellulose which was further modified with ethylene and propylene oxides and CuO nanoparticles. They were characterised with Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray and thermogravimetric analyser-differential scanning calorimeter (TGA-DSC). This approach gave interesting structural differences among the cellulose and the modified forms. From the TGA analyses, the CuO nanoparticles impregnated cellulosic material exhibited the greatest stability. The raw bamboo fibre appeared as stacked porous nanotubes as shown by the SEM different from other morphologies while the FTIR displayed similar peaks with minor differences. The nature and behaviour of the modified cellulosic materials suggest applications especially in paint formulation and as nano carriers.