Novel insights into the Dispersed and Acid-mediated Surface Modification of the Carbon Nanofibers

Publication date: Available online 6 August 2019Source: Materials Chemistry and PhysicsAuthor(s): Kamini Turan, Prabhsharan Kaur, Dinesh Manhas, Jadab Sharma, Gaurav VermaCarbon nanofibers (CNF) are the state of art materials owing to their special morphological features. In the pristine form, they exhibit strong van der Waals interactions which keep them agglomerated. The actual potential of these nanofibers could be realized once these are unbundled. In this work, CNF have been dispersed with Triton X-100 during ultrasonication, and further functionalized using 3:1 mixture of H2SO4 and HNO3 via reflux method. The effects of different concentrations of Triton X-100 (1-3 ml) on the dispersion and functionalization of CNF have been studied. CNF have been functionalized with O, N and S functionalities. The results have been elicited using FESEM, EDS, FTIR and RAMAN techniques. Triton X-100 wrapping covers up many (if not all) of the reactive edge sites on CNF. Additionally, the Cloud point phenomenon has been observed owing to the temperature behavior of adsorbed Triton X-100 layers on to CNF. Direct functionalization of CNF has been observed to be destructive towards their morphology. Acid functionalized CNF are intended for the electrochemical, nanocomposites, ink-jet printing, sensing applications etc.
Source: Materials Chemistry and Physics - Category: Materials Science Source Type: research