Efficient methods of surface functionalization of lignocellulosic waste toward surface clickability enhancement

This work targets the development of a pioneering synthetic strategy to modify the surface of lignocellulosic/natural filler material abundant in date palm pedicels by incorporating azide and alkyne moieties with the aid of microwave as a heating source. The novelty of this work is originated from the fact that functionalization was achieved, in both cases, using shorter modification path within short time. The developed technique takes into consideration the environmental regulations by endorsing the use of green chemistry toward fast and simple materials synthesize that can be widely used industrially. The functionalized material can be utilized as an intermediate product for several modern applications such as click chemistry and bio-composite production. The modified materials were characterized using Fourier transform infrared, solid-state 13C nuclear magnetic resonance (ssNMR), x-ray diffraction (XRD), and thermo-gravimetric analysis (TGA). Characterization techniques provide evidence that the functional groups were successfully incorporated in the natural filler which depicts that the used functionalization technique is effective in providing a trouble-free route toward natural filler modification. Thereby, the findings of this work provide a new opportunity for using click chemistry approach to fabricate cost-effective and sustainable bio-composite materials.