Synthesis and Characterization of Carbon Nanospheres

An experiment was conducted to synthesize carbon nanospheres of different sizes by controlling the temperature in polycondensation reactions of glucose under hydrothermal processes. Morphological, structural, thermal, and optical properties of as-synthesized particles were characterized using a transmission electron microscope (TEM), scanning electron microscope (SEM), X-ray diffractometer (XRD), thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA), diffraction thermal analysis (DTA), and Raman spectroscopy. Thermal study indicates that particles change their phase from amorphous to crystalline before achieving a thermal stability at 520℃. The presence of D-band and G-band in the Raman spectrum also verifies amorphous and crystalline natures of the sample. It has also been observed that the particle’s morphology, dispersity, and size were modified after calcination of samples at 500℃ in comparison to those not calcinated. Overall results indicate that the carbon nanospheres are hard solids and highly dispersed with size ranges from 50 nm to 260 nm.