Hydrothermal synthesis of carbon microspheres from sucrose with citric acid as a catalyst: Physicochemical and structural properties
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
1-1-2020
Abstract
The production of size-tunable Carbon microspheres (CMSs) from cheaply available materials using an environmentally friendly technique is highly appreciated. In this study, size-tunable CMSs were hydrothermally synthesized at 190 degrees C using sucrose as carbon source, and citric acid as a catalyst. The effect of varying citric acid concentration on the size of the microspheres was investigated. Results indicated that under similar hydrothermal conditions, variation in the concentration of citric acid between 0 and 5 wt.% increased the size of CMSs ranging from 3.12 to 11.2 mu m, as evidenced by SEM and particle size analyzer. TGA confirmed the purity of the carbonaceous particles in a single-step degradation with the presence of D-band and G-band in Raman spectra. FTIR and elemental analyzer confirmed the presence of hydrophilic oxygen functionalities such as -OH, -C=O, and COOH on the surface of CMSs. This study opens a novel and straightforward approach to produce size-tunable CMSs with functional groups.
Keywords
Carbon microspheres, Hydrothermal synthesis, Sucrose, Citric acid
Publication Title
Journal of Taibah University for Science
Divisions
biomedengine
Funders
Ministry of Energy, Science, Technology, Environment and Climate Change (MESTECC), Malaysia [Grant No: 03-02-10-SF025],Ministry of Education, Malaysia [Grant No: FRGS- FP076-2018A]
Volume
14
Issue
1
Publisher
Taylor & Francis Ltd
Publisher Location
2-4 PARK SQUARE, MILTON PARK, ABINGDON OR14 4RN, OXON, ENGLAND