Sustainable carboxymethyl cellulose from palm flower agro-waste as a bio-dielectric material for electronic devices

Carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) was first synthesized using Borassus flabellifer flower agro-waste, which is non-food and mostly discarded floral biomass. CMC is extracted via alkali treatment, bleaching, and alkalization with sodium chloroacetate. This article seeks to show how palm flower residues can be transformed into useful cellulose derivatives for sustainable material production. This method yielded 70.3 ± 1.8% CMC with a density of 0.48 ± 0.03 g/cm³ and a neutral pH. Chemical analysis revealed that the carboxyl content was 21.8 ± 0.9% and the degree of substitution was 0.78 ± 0.04%, leading to efficient carboxymethylation. The Fourier transform infrared spectrum showed typical carboxylate peaks at 1562, 1447, and 1348 cm^-1, and XRD showed a semi-crystalline structure with a crystallinity index of 48.6% and a crystallite size of about 4.2 nm. SEM and particle size analyses revealed that it exhibits a unique multiscale fibrous-flaky morphology (~0.067 mm), which justifies its applicability in biodegradable and sustainable material systems. In addition, CMC pellets were synthesized, and their electrical properties were tested. The analysis of the DC measurement indicated a leakage current of 8.1 μA at an applied voltage of 20 V, whereas the AC impedance study displayed a loss tangent of 0.87. The dielectric analysis revealed moderate insulating behavior with a leakage current of 8.1 μA at 20 V and a relatively high loss tangent (~0.87). The CMC material shows a moderate dielectric response with characteristics typical of polar biopolymer systems. The observed dielectric loss response indicates applications in low-power and environmentally sustainable electronic applications rather than high-performance energy storage systems.