Hydrothermal carbon from biomass: a comparison of the local structure from poly- to monosaccharides and pentoses/hexoses

Carbon particles are synthesized under hydrothermal conditions using different biomass (glucose, xylose, maltose, sucrose, amylopectin, starch) and biomass derivates (5-hydroxymethyl-furfural-1-aldehyde (HMF) and furfural) as carbon sources. Carbons obtained from mono- and polysaccharides, hexose and pentose sugars, and from the biomass derivatives, HMF and furfural, are compared from the particle morphology, chemical composition and structural point of view. A clear structural and morphological difference can be observed in carbons from pentoses and hexoses, but in the latter case, irrespective of the nature of the hexose sugar, all carbon materials showed astonishing similarities, opening the way for the use of renewable biomass in the synthesis of such carbon materials.