Cellulose nanowhiskers were prepared by sulfuric acid hydrolysis from coconut husk fibers which had
previously been submitted to a delignification process. The effects of preparation conditions on the thermal
and morphological behavior of the nanocrystals were investigated. Cellulose nanowhisker suspensions
were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), transmission electron
microscopy (TEM), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and X-ray diffraction. Results showed that it was
possible to obtain ultrathin cellulose nanowhiskers with diameters as low as 5 nm and aspect ratio of
up to 60. A possible correlation between preparation conditions and particle size was not observed.
Higher residual lignin content was found to increase thermal stability indicating that by controlling reaction
conditions one can tailor the thermal properties of the nanowhiskers.