Synthesis and characterization of amine-functionalized mesoporous carbon nanomaterial from biowaste

Garlic (Allium sativum) is widely cultivated and consumed, making it one of the most important crops in the world. India is the second largest producer next to China. The garlic peels from the garlic processing industry are often discarded as agricultural waste. These wastes are rich in carbon precursors, making them an ideal feedstock for mesoporous carbon nanomaterial (MCN) synthesis. Pyrolysis is the top-down approach to synthesizing the nanomaterial, which involves heating organic materials such as garlic peel waste that breaks into smaller compounds, resulting in a mixture of gases and carbon-rich solid residues (bio-char). The amine-functionalization was performed over the mesoporous surface and confirmed by the shifts in zeta potential value from – 31.6 mV to + 22 mV to increase the surface charge density. Similarly, the Brunauer Emmett Teller (BET) analyzer confirmed the reduction in the pore diameter from 12.5 nm to 7.41 nm due to amine functionalization. Furthermore, the synthesized MCN were thoroughly characterized using advanced analytical techniques, providing comprehensive insights into their size, shape, surface functional groups, crystallinity and porosity. This study transformed agricultural waste into high-value materials (MCN), reducing environmental impact and promoting resource efficiency.