The Production and Characterization of Carbon Composite from Coconut Shell Charcoal

Abstract

Structure and chemical composition of coconut shell carbon with polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) as the stimulant through the observation of TG-DTA, SEM-EDS, FTIR and XRD had been studied. The process was carried out by calcining coconut shell charcoal at the temperature of 873 and 1023 K under nitrogen flow, then mixed with polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) under composition of 2.5 to 7.5% wt. in water solvent. The development of carbon composite structure was observed by heating the samples in Argon gas of 1673 K, the rate of temperature was 10 K/min in 3 hours. The products were then analyzed by TG-DTA, SEM-EDS, FTIR and XRD. The result showed that the products were in uniform particle size of micrometer dimensions and spherical particles in shape, with average content of C element at 97.44% wt., aromatic character and semi-crystalline structure.