Structural, morphological, mechanical, and electrical studies of N. nucifera fibres

The Powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD) data of Nelumbo Nucifera fibre is utilized to study multifaceted properties. Rietveld refinement was carried out along with cellulose phase. The crystallite size was computed using the Scherrer equation, and through first principle calculations, it has been illustrated and concluded that the size is not ellipsoidal, as previously suggested by other researchers; rather, it exhibits a multidimensional shape. Treloar's principle was used to create a 6 × 6 elastic tensor matrix, which was analysed with the Elastic Tensor Analysis (EALTE) tool that showed the fibre is anisotropic. The dielectric properties were measured in relation to frequency and temperature. It was found that conductivity increases with an increase in frequency and temperature. Functional Data Analysis (FDA) and regression analyses were employed to determine the correlation among various parameters. Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) studies confirm that the lotus fibre is made up of cellulose. Scanning Electron and Transmission Electron Microscopy images unveiled that the lotus fibre exhibits structural stability characterized by both crystalline and amorphous regions. The energy gap calculated from UV-Vis data using the Kubelka-Munk method is 3.8 eV. The constituents of N. nucifera fibre are identified to be carbon and oxygen through Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDS) analysis.