Synthesis of Transparent Amorphous Carbon Thin Films from Cellulose Powder in Rice Straw

Abstract

The transparent amorphous carbon thin films (ACTF) were prepared through a batch acid spraying technique in the presence of cobalt silicate as a catalyst at low temperature between 30 and 45 \(^{\circ }\hbox {C}\). Hence, the catalyst was prepared using silica gel as a basic matrix and supporting material to produce ACTF. The produced active carbon was characterized using XRD, FTIR, and Raman spectrum. The high-resolution transmission electron microscope (HR-TEM) and thermogravimetric analysis were used to analyze the surface morphology and thermal stability of cellulose and ACTF, whereas the surface area was calculated using the standard iodine method. The results of Raman spectroscopy and TEM show the realization of ACTF suspension with highest constitutional order and the lowest number of layers with confirming of the succeed preparation of thin ACTF layers in thickness and average size of 1 and 100 mm, respectively. In addition, under these conditions, the activated carbons’ iodine value is 721.64 mg/g, and the yield ratio is 85.71 %.