Influence of sucrose solution's pH on hydrothermally synthesized carbon microspheres

Using the hydrothermal method, carbon microspheres (CMSs) were prepared in sucrose solutions of different pH values by adding different amounts of HCl and NaOH. The surface structure and properties of the CMSs were characterized by SEM coupled with XRD, and the CMS particle size was analyzed using Nano Measurer 1.2.5. The results show that pH affects the shape, surface smoothness, dispersion, and particle size uniformity of the CMSs. The CMSs are larger for pH 7. In addition, when NaCl was added to the neutral sucrose solution, the growth and particle size of the CMSs were obviously affected, but their morphology remained the same.