Graphite powder based on coconut shell fabricated using modified temperature treatment

Research of graphite powder based on coconut shell fabricated using modified temperature treatment has been successfully conducted. Coconut shell as a raw material was washed from the husk and dried in the oven with three different temperature variations, i.e. 31°C, 51°C, and 71°C for 17 hours, so that three different sample variations are obtained. Subsequently, all samples was characterized by using XRD, while the highest carbon graphite content was characterized by using FTIR and SEM-EDX. The results of XRD characterization shows amorphous phase pattern with carbon graphite 2H as highest element while calcium, phosphorus, and pottasium as the impurities. The highest graphite content is obtained from sample with heating temperature at 51°C while the smallest graphite content is obtained at 71°C with percentage of 90.93% and 84.06%, respectively. The FTIR characterization confirms that two functional groups are formed including aromatic (C=C) at wavenumber of 1560.93 cm−1 and epoxy (C-O) at wavenumber of 1228.54 cm−1. The SEM image reveals that granular particles were formed with different size distribution while EDX analysis confirms high amount of carbon content with 96.49%.