The understanding of the structure and related property evolution during carbonization is imperative in engineering carbon materials for specific functionalities. High-purity cellulose was used as a model precursor to help understand the conversion of organic compounds to hard carbons. Several microstructural characterization techniques were employed to follow the evolution of the precursor to carbon during the heat treatment range of 250°C to 2000°C. Tools were used to characterize both long and short-range order during the carbonization of microcrystalline cellulose, including XRD, Raman, EELS, and HR-TEM analyses. These methods supported the existence of carbon clusters and indicated the mechanisms of their growth. Structural evolution was strongly correlated to changes in electrical, thermal, and chemical properties.
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