Green single-pot oxidative systems for carboxylated nanocellulose production from rose-stem floriculture waste

We present a novel approach that eliminates the need for multistep pretreatments and hazardous chemicals in the production of high-performance cellulose nanofibrils (CNF). Our single-pot method integrates delignification and carboxylation using hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) and organic acids while valorizing floricultural residues. By straightforward variation of acid type and sequence, different chemical modifications were observed, resulting in CNF with distinct fibrillation efficiencies, sizes, shapes, and colloidal stabilities. The most efficient treatment (citric acid-H₂O₂) effectively removed lignin (from 29.6 ± 1.0 % to 1.0 ± 0.2 %), producing CH-CNF with an average diameter of 3.16 nm, a high nanosized fraction (61.5 ± 0.5 %), carboxyl content of 426.2 ± 40 μmol g^-1, and excellent colloidal properties. The Quality Index of CH-CNF (74.5), which integrates values of turbidity and nanosized fraction of the suspension and transmittance, Young's modulus, and porosity of nanopaper, was comparable to commercial TEMPO-CNF. This scalable, green method transformed floral waste into high-quality CNFs in fewer steps, utilizing green chemistry to support the advancement of circular economy strategies for more sustainable materials.