Authors: Eze JI, Nwaeze IA.
Work on biomass synthesized catalyst from Nigerian Baobab fruit shell powder was thermally treated at 550o C for 6 hours using a muffle furnace. The resultant calcined powder and the un-calcined were characterized using Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and X-ray Diffraction (XRD) and further compared with the un-calcined form (baobab fruit shell powder). The FTIR revealed the presence of functional groups matched as alkenes with carbon-hydrogen and nitrogen-hydrogen bonds for baobab fruit shell powder (BFSP). With C-O, a carbon stretch at 1118 & 670 cm-1 and C-H alkyne for the biomass derived catalyst (BDC) from baobab. The morphology of the samples using SEM indicated the presence of higher porosity in the calcined sample when compared to the uncalcined. The superimposed graph of intensity vs 2 theta, of the BFSP and BDC showed no crystallinity during phase determination causing differing diffraction peak counts with no width from 200 – 450 , characteristic to biomass of plant or animal origin. Related outcome was seen for XRD results.
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