Chemical Reaction: Understanding the Key to the Formation of Carbonaceous Materials from Sucralose

Abstract

AbstractAn interesting way to understand carbonaceous materials structure and their properties is to evaluate the chemical reactions involved in their production. However, there are only a few published works describing the main reactions. Here, we report how chemical reactions can help understand the degradation of sucralose in hydrothermal carbonization (HTC), and the formation of hydrochar. To this end, sucralose is treated for 3.0 h, and Raman and mass spectrum data of hydrochar and liquid samples are analyzed, as well quantum chemistry calculations (QCC). The results show that ionization of sucralose is the most important step in the degradation process, and the use of FeCl2 can speed up the degradation process. However, pH leads to ionization, dehydration and dechlorination, but glycosidic bond cleavage is a common subsequent reaction. Raman analysis present hydrochar samples with oxygen‐containing groups and aromatic/heterocyclic ring bands which are important in functionalized materials. Morphologically, the samples generated at initial pH=10.00, and in the presence of MnCl2 presented the smallest microspheres and this phenomenon may be related to the amount of degradation products. Finally, the evaluation of Raman spectroscopy and mass spectrometry data using principal components analysis is useful to suggest the degradation pathways and hydrochar formation processes.