Abstract
Microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) is a green material that has widespread applications in pharmaceuticals, food, cosmetics, and other industries owing to its biocompatibility, biodegradability, hydrophilicity, and acid-insolubility. Therefore, this study presented a simple, fast, and cost-effective approach for preparing MCC from laboratory cotton via alkaline treatment and sulfuric acid hydrolysis. Further, the synthesized cotton-based MCC was characterized using FTIR, XPS, and EDX. Based on these results, the major components were identified as carbon and oxygen. This finding was evidenced by the FTIR analysis, which displayed peak wavelength at 3446.94 cm− 1, 2891.11 cm− 1, 1649.50 cm− 1, 1380.1 cm− 1, 1061.19 cm− 1, and 1050–1150 cm− 1. The surface morphology was also examined by FESEM and FETEM, which showed that the prepared MCC has a smooth surface and a consistent, rod-like shape. In addition, the MCC exhibited the typical diffraction peaks of a crystalline structure of cellulose II at 12.2°, 20°, and 22.03°, which correspond to the diffraction planes of 1–10, 110, and 020, respectively, and had a crystallinity index of 78.7%. Moreover, the prepared MCC had a diameter of 37.80 µm and exhibited good stability with a peak at -76.51 mV. Further, the cotton-based MCC exhibited high thermal stability, as revealed by the TGA.