Development of Specific Surface Area in Carbon Material Prepared from Cassava Tuber Char Using a Chemical Activation Assisted Sonochemical Process

Abstract

The preparation of carbon materials from low-cost agricultural residues is presented in this work. Carbon products were prepared from carbonized cassava tuber (cassava tuber char, CTC) using a chemical activation assisted sonochemical process incorporating KOH as an activating agent. The physical properties such as proximate analysis, ultimate analysis and FTIR spectra of raw material were studied using cassava tuber collected from farmland in the Kanchanaburi Province. The structure of the precursor material played a significant role in influencing the quality and properties of the as-prepared carbon. It was found that the specific surface area of carbon products was improved through chemical activation assisted sonochemical process at 80 °C for 4 hours. The influence of KOH impregnation ratios on the specific surface area of the prepared carbon was also investigated in the activation step. Moreover, the properties of cassava tuber-carbon material were characterized by SEM, FTIR, XRD, and multipoint BET analysis. Finally, the application of cassava tuber carbon material as a carbon support for ZnO photocatalyst was investigated by a simple technique.