Coir Pith Lignin as a Reliable Bio-Source for Carbonaceous Nano- Structures: Extraction and Characterization

Abstract

Background: This paper signifies using coir pith lignin as a cheap and reliable carbon source for preparing bio-based carbonaceous material. Objective: The coir pith is selected as it is abundantly available and has a very high lignin content of 38-59.5%. The soda extraction process does the extraction of lignin from coir pith with a yield of 45%. Method: This extracted lignin is then subjected to a different procedure to transform it into carbon nanofibers with an ID/IG ratio of 0.35 and carbon fillers with a high surface area of 1089.1 m2/g without the presence of an activating agent. Results: Thus prepared carbonaceous fillers are potential reinforcements for polymer matrices as these fillers may provide sufficient mechanical and thermal stability to the composites. Conclusion: Furthermore, due to their excellent electrical conductivity, 0.221 S/cm, the carbonaceous nanomaterials are suitable for multifunctional composite applications. This is the first work based on coir pith lignin as a carbon precursor to the best of our knowledge.