eng Ansari Education and Research Society Journal of Ultra Chemistry 0973-3450 2319-8036 December 2009 5 3 305 314 juc 863 article ALHASSAN M. ALHASSAN 1 DZULKEFLY KUANG 2 ANWAR KASSIM 2 ATAN BIN MOHAMMAD 2 Department of Chemistry, University Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM, Serdang, Selengor (MALAYSIA) Department of Chemistry, University Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM, Serdang, selengor (MALAYSIA) <p style="text-align: justify;">In this study, we investigated the physicochemical properties of cellulose obtained from rubber wood sawdust. Cellulose samples were isolated from rubber wood sawdust by a two stage treatment at 100&deg;C with 8 or 10% HNO3 for l h followed by l% NaOH for 30min and also using 6.3% NaCICb, pH 3.6 at 75&deg;C, followed by treatment with 17.5% NaOH for 2 hours. The structural properties of the cellulose samples were comparatively examined using Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and X-ray diffraction (XRD), and their thermal stability and morphology were determined using thermogravimatory analysis (TGA) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) respectively. The results obtained showed that rubber wood sawdust posses good structural properties and thermal stability. Thus, it can be a potential raw material in fiber based applications such as making of paper and composites materials.</p> <p style="text-align: justify;">&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> https://journalofchemistry.org/paper/863/ Rubber wood Cellulose Crystallinity Thermal stability Physicochemical characterization