Synthesis and Characterization of Carbon Micro Balls fromGraphite by the Arc Discharge Method

Duringthearc discharge technique, a high direct current (DC) voltage powers have been employedby researchers forthefabrication of carbon materials, whilein this reported technique, a very lowDC power is used to produce carbon micro balls (CMBs). Wherein, the CMBs were synthesizedwith a minimum capacity of current (1.5 amperes) and voltage (15 volts), and theirstructuralpropertieswere investigated. Theelectrochemical arc discharge was performed between twographite rods inserted in an aqueous solution of 1% acetonitrile.The prepared CMBswerecharacterized using X-ray Diffraction (XRD), Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), AttenuatedTotal ReflectanceFourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR)and Energy Dispersive X-ray (EDX) analysis for confirmation of their characteristic properties. The existence of sphericalshape and smooth surface of the CMBs was confirmed by SEM with diameters in the range of80μ-300 nm, and the EDX analysis exhibited the composition of CMBs with atomic mass percentsof carbon (88.35%) and oxygen (11.65%). Similarly, the XRD analysis revealed the crystallinegraphitic carbon nature of the CMBs with an average crystallitesize calculated from the majordiffraction peak using the Scherrer formula of about 40.59 nm. The FTIR analysis also showed thesigns of the aromatic and oxygen functionalities present in theCMBs.