Abstract

This paper presents the results of a study of nanocarbonfibrils in charcoals, which were prepared from rice flour with diameters of 90, 75 and 38 µm, respectively. The rice flours were carbonized for 30 min at a temperature of 600 to 800°C. The carbonized products were characterized by scanning electron microscope (SEM), transmission electron microscope (TEM), Fourier transform infrared spectrometer (FTIR), energy dispersive X-ray spectrometer (EDS) and X-ray diffractometer (XRD). Nanocarbonfibrils with diameters of 59.42 to 68.38 nm were found in all carbonized products. The other nanocarbons exhibited by the products are carbon granules with diameters ranging from 0.9 to 1.1 µm. The most functional groups on surface charcoals are OH-stretching, C=C stretching, P-O-C stretching and Si-O-C stretching. The charcoal products are composed of amorphous carbon together with SiO₂, K₂CO₃, K₂O, KO₂, Mg and P.

Key words: Rice flour charcoal, nanocarbonfibril, nanostructure carbon, carbonization.