Effect of heat treatment on carbon characteristic from corncob powders prepared by coprecipitation method

Abstract

In general, carbon is abundantly available in the form of biomaterials derived from plants, either as bio-products or bio-waste. In this study, we investigated carbon characteristics of corncob powders, which were synthesized using a coprecipitation method and heated at 400 °C. The samples were analyzed using thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), X-ray diffraction (XRD), energy dispersive X-ray (EDX), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR). The results of this study indicated that samples heated at 100 °C encompass a crystalline phase, while samples heated at 400 °C formed an amorphous phase. Morphology of all samples was formed in a micrometer size in the form of lumps with the highest carbon content of 72.3%. The C=C functional group in the carbonated samples at 400 °C was detected at a wavenumber of 1593 cm-1, which is a characteristic of carbon in graphite and graphene.