Carbon nanospheres (CNSs) couple large surface area, high electrical conductivity, thermal stability and variable surface functionalities with controllable size, band gap and chemical properties. In the present study, mono-dispersed CNSs were synthesized by hydrothermal process from three saccharides-glucose, xylose (monosaccharides) and sucrose (disaccharide). The synthesized CNSs were characterized using XRD, FTIR, SEM, TEM and UV-visible spectroscopy. Xylose gives the smallest CNSs for the same solution concentration. The CNSs obtained are amorphous in nature and show direct bandgap ranging between 2.2 eV and 3.4 eV. The application of the synthesized CNSs as photo catalyst for organic waste degradation has been confirmed by comparative degradation of methylene blue dye in the presence of UV and visible light. The synthesized CNSs exhibited higher photodegradation efficiency under visible light illumination.
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