Nanoscale investigation of the structural and chemical changes induced by oxidation on carbon black surfaces: A scanning probe microscopy approach

Scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and noncontact tapping mode atomic force microscopy (AFM) have been employed to study on a local scale the structural and, for the first time, the chemical changes of carbon black (CB) particles following plasma oxidation. STM imaging of the pristine, untreated particles revealed a relatively ordered structure of tiny crystallites with a few amorphous regions. After plasma treatment, the crystallites were no longer observed and the CB particle surface exhibited a noticeable and ubiquitous increase in atomic-scale disorder. Phase contrast images obtained with noncontact tapping mode AFM indicated that the untreated CB particles were essentially hydrophobic as a pristine basal surface of graphite, but with occasional hydrophilic patches. By contrast, their plasma-treated counterparts displayed enhanced hydrophilicity as a result of the introduction of oxygen onto the CB surface, the presence of which was evidenced by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, but most significantly, such enhancement was observed to be quite uniform at a local scale of individual particles. The possibility of investigating on a very local scale the chemical behavior of oxidized CB particles should be useful for the control and optimization of their dispersion properties in different systems.

Bibliographic Details

Main Authors:	Paredes Nachón, Juan Ignacio, Gracia, Mercedes, Martínez-Alonso, A., Tascón, J. M. D.
Other Authors:	Dirección General de Investigación Científica y Técnica, DGICT (España)
Format:	artículo biblioteca
Published:	Elsevier 2005-08-01
Subjects:	Carbon black, Atomic force microscopy, Scanning tunneling microscopy, Oxidation,
Online Access:	http://hdl.handle.net/10261/332476
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