Studies on cellulose nanocrystals isolated from groundnut shells

•Cellulose content of groundnut shells was 38.3%.•Yield of CNC-GNS was 12wt% for groundnut shells.•Length & width of CNC-GNS were 67–172 & 5–18nm with an average aspect ratio of 12.•Mw of CNCs was ∼105g/mol, in LiCl/DMAc system, obtained through SLS measurements. Today, various renewable biomass resources are accepted as waste material and are mostly burnt or used as cattle feed. The commercial value of these wastes can be increased by utilising them in production of nanomaterials. So, the present work was conducted for isolation of cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) from groundnut shells which are produced annually as waste in large quantity (∼7 million tons). The structural, thermal, morphological & elemental analyses were assessed through corresponding techniques. Light Scattering studies were performed to analyse more likely weight average molecular weight (Mw) & radius of radius (Rg). The high Mw ∼105g/mol obtained for CNCs in lithium chloride (LiCl)/N,N-dimethylacetamide (DMAc) system, was an interesting feature which gets affected by LiCl and polymer concentrations. Solution with high polymer and low LiCl concentration was found to show higher values of Mw & Rg.