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
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]
Publication Title
Journal of Taibah University for Science
Volume
14
Issue
1
Publisher
Taylor & Francis Ltd
Publisher Location
2-4 PARK SQUARE, MILTON PARK, ABINGDON OR14 4RN, OXON, ENGLAND