Preparation and Characterization of Carbon Nanospheres Using Sugar as a Precursor

Abstract

A carbon nanosphere has been used in various applications such as supercapacitors, lithium batteries, fuel cells and catalyst carriers due to their outstanding properties. The precursors commonly used to synthesize carbon nanospheres are methane, polymer and alginate solution. These precursors come from fossil fuels which are non-renewable resources where future access is limited. Hence, alternatives of renewable natural resources to develop carbon-based precursors should be studied. The aim of this work is to study properties of carbon nanospheres synthesized from sugar by using chemical reduction method. The surface morphology of mesoporous carbon nanospheres were observed by field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) and the expected elemental composition by energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) analysis. The FESEM images showed carbon nanospheres having irregular spherical nanostructures with a range of diameter from 84.04 – 834.86 nm. The formation of carbon nanospheres with highly carbon content can be observed from EDX spectrum.