Preparation and Characterization of Durum Wheat (Triticum durum) Straw Cellulose Nanofibers by Electrospinning

Cellulose nanofibers from durum wheat straw (Triticum durum) were produced and characterized to study their potential as reinforcement fibers in biocomposites. Cellulose was isolated from wheat straw by chemical treatment. Nanofibers were produced via an electrospinning method using trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) as the solvent. The nanofibers were 270 +/- 97 nm in diameter. Analysis of the FT-IR spectra demonstrated that the chemical treatment of the wheat straw removed hemicellulose and lignin. XRD revealed that the crystallinity of the cellulose was reduced after electrospinning, but nanofibers remained highly crystalline. The glass transition temperature (T-g value) of the fibers was 130 degrees C, higher than that of cellulose (122 degrees C), and the degradation temperature of the fibers was 236 degrees C. Residual TFA was not present in the nanofibers as assessed by the FT-IR technique.