TY  - EJOU
AU  - Shao, Dongwei 
AU  - Sun, Hao 
AU  - Wang, Qi 
AU  - Han, Ping 
AU  - Liu, Yiwei 
AU  - Luan, Jiyi 
AU  - Jia, Lin 
AU  - He, Qiang 
AU  - Cui, Bo 

TI  - The Valorization of Poplar Leaves Waste for the Extraction of Cellulose Nanocrystals
T2  - Journal of Polymer Materials

PY  - 2026
VL  - 43
IS  - 1
SN  - 0976-3449

AB  - The valorization of agricultural waste into high-value nanomaterials is crucial for advancing sustainable biorefineries. This study presents an efficient approach for extracting carboxylated cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) from poplar leaf waste (PL), an abundant and underutilized biomass. The process involved alkaline treatment and hydrogen peroxide bleaching to purify cellulose (PL-CEL), followed by sequential periodate-chlorite oxidation to produce dicarboxylic cellulose nanocrystals (PL-CNCs). The resulting nanocrystals were comprehensively characterized using compositional analysis, XRD, FTIR, TEM, TGA, and zeta potential measurements. XRD analysis confirmed a high crystallinity index of 82% for PL-CEL, which decreased to 72.2% after oxidation due to the introduction of carboxyl groups. FTIR spectra revealed a prominent peak at 1720 cm<sup>−1</sup>, confirming successful carboxylation. TEM images showed rod-like nanocrystals with an average length of 271.22 nm and width of 14.68 nm, while conductometric titration indicated a carboxyl content of 1.9 mmol/g. The PL-CNCs exhibited good colloidal stability with a zeta potential of –30.2 mV at pH 7.0. TGA demonstrated moderate thermal stability with enhanced char formation. This work highlights a green and scalable route for converting poplar leaf waste into functional nanocellulose, suitable for applications in composites, adsorption, and sustainable materials. The novelty of this study lies in the pioneering use of poplar leaf waste combined with a sequential periodate-chlorite oxidation to sustainably produce carboxylated CNCs with enhanced functionality.
KW  - Poplar leaves; sequential oxidation; cellulose nanocrystals; carboxylation; waste valorization

DO  - 10.32604/jpm.2026.074541