The particle sizes of agglomerates of carbon nanospheres are reduced by dispersing the carbon nanospheres in a polar solvent. The carbon nanospheres are multi-walled, hollow, graphitic structures with an average diameter in a range from about 10 nm to about 200 nm, more preferably about 20 nm to about 100 nm. Spectral data shows that prior to being dispersed, the carbon nanospheres are agglomerated into clusters that range in size from 500 nm to 5 microns. The clusters of nanospheres are reduced in size by dispersing the carbon nanospheres in the polar solvent (e.g., water) using a surface modifying agent (e.g., glucose) and ultrasonication. The combination of polar solvent, surface modifying agent, and ultrasonication breaks up and disperses agglomerates of carbon nanospheres.