When a reaction of sugar and sulfuric acid occurs, some form of carbon is produced. Is this carbon bonded as graphite? If not, than what is it bonded as?
$\ce{C6H12O6 ->[H2SO4] 6C + 6 H2O }$
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@A.K. Wow, that was really dumb of me, I didn't double check my chemical reaction and somehow convinced myself that carbon was the output. – Sarah Szabo Mar 13 '16 at 05:42
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1@A.K. Revised question to valid chemical equation. – Sarah Szabo Mar 13 '16 at 06:53
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Related: http://chemistry.stackexchange.com/questions/15442/how-does-sulfuric-acid-dehydrate-sugars – Curt F. Oct 08 '16 at 14:01
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The product is not pure elemental carbon, but instead an amorphous solid that consists of mostly carbon atoms, with at least 5-10% of the atoms being other elements. For example, one academic paper from 2001 found that the "carbon" formed by sulfuric acid catalyzed dehydration of sugar had a $\ce{C}:\ce{H}$ molar ratio of 14:1.
Such materials are sometimes called hydrogenated amorphous carbon.
Curt F.
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