Crystallographic and Spectroscopic Analysis of Activated Carbon Derived from MicrowaveAssisted KOH Activation of Banana Peels

Mary E Oni, John C Agomuo, Samuel M Udeh, and Salisu I Kunya
2026-07-10 17 views 0 downloads

 

KOH-activated carbon was prepared from banana peel waste by microwave heating (800 W) for 10, 20, 30, and 40 min with a constant KOH/precursor ratio of 1:1. The effect of irradiation time on crystal order and surface chemistry was systematically investigated by X-ray Diffraction (XRD) and Raman spectroscopy. XRD analysis showed that crystallinity and graphitization increased gradually with activation time; at 40 min, the crystallite size was 20.5 ± 0.6 nm and the microstrain was 0.00160. Raman spectroscopy showed a systematic evolution of the D/G band intensity ratio (ID/IG) from ~1.0 (carbonized) to a minimum of 0.75 at 30 min, indicative of optimised graphitic ordering. The 30-40 min samples showed the highest degree of graphitization, suggesting potential for enhanced electrical conductivity and charge-storage performance. These results demonstrate that microwave activation duration is a powerful parameter for tuning the structural properties of banana peel-derived activated carbon for energy and adsorption applications.

 

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