Hydrothermal Synthesis of Carbon Microspheres from Glucose: Tuning Sphere Size by Adding Oxalic Acid

Carbon spheres were successfully prepared via hydrothermal treatment of glucose, and spherical size (0.5-8 mu m) could be tuned by adding different amount of oxalic acid. The surface of obtained carbon spheres contains hydrophilic functionalities including -OH, -C=O, and COOH groups, which were not destroyed by oxalic acid. This Study provided a facile, simple route for producing size-tunable carbon microspheres with functional groups.