Eco‐friendly thermal insulation material from cellulose nanofibre

ABSTRACT Nano cellulose is a material of current interest that has attracted considerable attention from researchers due to its interesting properties such as low toxicity, availability, natural abundance, biodegradability, and flexible surface chemistry. Cellulose fiber, usually derived from wood, plant walls or cotton is an eco‐friendly thermal insulation material. The cellulose nanofibers (CNFs) described in this work were derived from cotton via sulfuric acid hydrolysis followed by ultrasonication. The formation of CNF and its morphology were analyzed using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The thermooptic parameters of the prepared sample, which to the author's knowledge has not been reported so far, were studied by the dual beam mode‐matched thermal lens technique. Thermal diffusivity (2.61 × 10 −8 m 2 /s) and thermal conductivity (0.108 W/mK) values of the prepared CNFs clearly point to the application potential of the material. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2020 , 137 , 48272.