The role of NaOH and papaya latex bio-activator during production of carbon nanoparticle from rice husks

N Ngafwan, I N G Wardana, Widya Wijayanti and Eko Siswanto

Abstract

This research explains the role of NaOH and bio-activator from papaya latex in the synthesis of carbon nanoparticles from rice husks in a water medium to produce fullerene-like polytype of SiC. The process begins with the pyrolysis and then the high energy milling (HEM) process followed by dispersion of NaOH and coagulation of bio-activator. The HEM process creates residual stress which produces nanocrack. NaOH dissolved into ions which activate dipole force to create dipole moment on the tip of nanocrack and become the trigger of nanocrack dispersion. The crack dispersion breaks carbon into nanoparticles having polar electrical charge so that they are dispersed homogeneously inside the water. Bio-activator then continues to perform catalytic building molecular chain as a bridge connecting pole sides of carbon nanoparticles with the bonds of van der Walls. Catalytic performance causes the coagulation process of a nanoparticle to occur which resembles the morphological structure of fullerene-like polytype of SiC with the size of 20 up to 100 nm