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Surface Modification of Carbons
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Surface Modification of Carbons

A special issue of C (ISSN 2311-5629). This special issue belongs to the section "Carbon Materials and Carbon Allotropes".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 January 2020) | Viewed by 27753

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Rüdiger Schweiss

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Guest Editor
SGL Carbon GmbH, Technology and Innovation, Werner von Siemensstrasse 18, D-86405 Meitingen, Germany
Interests: carbon and graphite applications in batteries; fuel cells; electrolysis; porous carbon electrodes; carbon surface chemistry; carbon fibre-based electrodes; carbon fibre processing, carbon precursors, carbon nanomaterials in electrochemical applications
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Surface treatment of carbon materials has been employed for a long time across a variety of industries. Examples include the functionalization of carbon blacks to facilitate better functionality in the manufacturing of tires and or printing inks, surface oxidation treatment of carbon fibers to improve fiber-matrix adhesion in carbon-fiber reinforced plastics (CFRPs) or the decoration of carbons for application in metallurgy or semiconductor manufacturing with thin films (e.g., SiC) for the enhancement of corrosion or abrasion resistance. Like these well-established structural materials, today’s engineered carbons with potential application in catalysis, energy or electronics often require surface modification in order to develop their functionality.

This special issue of C—Journal of Carbon Research welcomes submissions from all fields of carbon surface modification ranging from modification techniques and characterization methods to application-oriented studies.

Kind regards,
Dr. Rüdiger Schweiss
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. C is an international peer-reviewed open access quarterly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • surface chemistry of carbons
  • surface treatment of carbon, carbon fibers and graphite
  • carbon composites
  • carbon-coatings on carbon materials (CVD, PVD, Plasma)
  • diamond and ceramic films on carbon (oxides, carbides)
  • corrosion protection of carbon materials

Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

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18 pages, 3710 KiB  
Article
A Comparative Study of the ZnO Growth on Graphene and Graphene Oxide: The Role of the Initial Oxidation State of Carbon
by Miguel Angel Gomez-Alvarez, Carlos Morales, Javier Méndez, Adolfo del Campo, Fernando J. Urbanos, Aarón Díaz, Luis Reséndiz, Jan Ingo Flege, Daniel Granados and Leonardo Soriano
C 2020, 6(2), 41; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/c6020041 - 20 Jun 2020
Cited by 15 | Viewed by 3509
Abstract
The role of the oxidation state of carbon on the early stages of growth of metal oxides was studied for the particular case of ZnO deposition on graphene and graphene oxide on SiO2 (G/SiO2 and GO/SiO2, respectively) substrates. The [...] Read more.
The role of the oxidation state of carbon on the early stages of growth of metal oxides was studied for the particular case of ZnO deposition on graphene and graphene oxide on SiO2 (G/SiO2 and GO/SiO2, respectively) substrates. The growth was carried out by thermal evaporation of metallic Zn under an oxygen atmosphere at room temperature. This technique permits quasi-equilibrium conditions during the oxide growth, allowing the characterization of the fundamental interaction between ZnO and the graphene-based substrates. Although in both cases ZnO follows a Volmer–Weber growth mode controlled by nucleation at defects, the details are different. In the case of the GO/SiO2 substrate, the nucleation process acts as a bottleneck, limiting the coverage of the complete surface and allowing the growth of very large ZnO structures in comparison to G/SiO2. Moreover, by studying the Zn-LMM Auger spectra, it is shown how the initial nature of the substrate influences the composition of the ZnO deposit during the very early stages of growth in terms of Zn/O atomic ratio. These results are compared to those previously reported regarding ZnO growth on graphite and graphene on Cu (G/Cu). This comparison allows us to understand the role of different characteristics of graphene-based substrates in terms of number of defects, oxidation state, graphene support substrate and number of graphene layers. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Surface Modification of Carbons)
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16 pages, 5106 KiB  
Article
Novel Characterizations of Mechanical Properties for a Copper/Single-Walled Carbon Nanotube Nanocomposite Synthesized by Laser Surface Implanting
by Jay F. Tu, Nilesh Rajule and Sang Don Mun
C 2020, 6(1), 10; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/c6010010 - 29 Feb 2020
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2358
Abstract
In our previous studies, we have developed a wet process, denoted laser surface implanting (LSI), to synthesize a copper/single-walled carbon nanotube (Cu–SWCNT) metal nanocomposite as an implant onto the surface of a pure copper substrate. The nanostructure of this Cu–SWCNT composite was confirmed [...] Read more.
In our previous studies, we have developed a wet process, denoted laser surface implanting (LSI), to synthesize a copper/single-walled carbon nanotube (Cu–SWCNT) metal nanocomposite as an implant onto the surface of a pure copper substrate. The nanostructure of this Cu–SWCNT composite was confirmed independently by several methods, including transmission electron microscope (TEM) images, which show discernable SWCNT clusters in nano sizes inside the copper matrix. The hardness was measured by micro-hardness tests to indicate over three times hardness over that of pure copper could be achieved. In this paper, we present several unique ways to further characterize the mechanical properties of the Cu-SWCNT nanocomposite. Nano-hardness tests are first performed to confirm that hardness improvement, about three times that of pure copper, is achieved, consistent with the micro-hardness test results. A new toughness measurement based on focus ion beam (FIB) bombardment was performed to demonstrate 2.5 times toughness improvement. Finally, a new compression test rig was designed to conduct plane strain compression test for an array of Cu-SWCNT implants. The results confirmed that the Cu-SWCNT nanocomposite exhibits a stress-strain behavior consistent with the results of the hardness and FIB tests. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Surface Modification of Carbons)
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12 pages, 5313 KiB  
Article
Effect of Processing Parameters on the Thermal and Electrical Properties of Electroless Nickel-Phosphorus Plated Carbon Fiber Heating Elements
by Bo-Kyung Choi, Soo-Jin Park and Min-Kang Seo
C 2020, 6(1), 6; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/c6010006 - 22 Jan 2020
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2442
Abstract
Carbon fibers (CFs) were plated with nickel-phosphorus (Ni-P) using an electroless plating process. The effects of the process parameters such as heat treatment temperature, heat treatment time, and the pH of the plating bath on electroless Ni-P plating were investigated. The structure, elemental [...] Read more.
Carbon fibers (CFs) were plated with nickel-phosphorus (Ni-P) using an electroless plating process. The effects of the process parameters such as heat treatment temperature, heat treatment time, and the pH of the plating bath on electroless Ni-P plating were investigated. The structure, elemental composition, and thermal and electrical properties of Ni-P plated CFs (MCF) were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), a four-probe volume resistivity tester, and an infrared thermal imaging camera, respectively. The XRD indicated the presence of amorphous and crystalline phases of Ni and Ni-P. The MCF were able to perform at high temperatures because of their higher thermal conductivity. A heat treatment temperature of 300 °C, a heat treatment time of 4 h, and a pH of 8.5 were found to be optimum for obtaining MCF with desirable thermal and electrical properties. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Surface Modification of Carbons)
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13 pages, 5587 KiB  
Article
One-Step Densification of Carbon/Carbon Composites Impregnated with Pyrolysis Fuel Oil-Derived Mesophase Binder Pitches
by Jae-Yeon Yang, Jong-Hyun Park, Yun-Su Kuk, Byoung-Suhk Kim and Min-Kang Seo
C 2020, 6(1), 5; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/c6010005 - 22 Jan 2020
Cited by 11 | Viewed by 5036
Abstract
Carbon/carbon (C/C) composites are conventionally manufactured by liquid-phase impregnation (LPI), in which the binder pitches and phenolic resins are impregnated into the composites, and by chemical vapor infiltration (CVI). However, CVI has certain limitations in that expensive gases, such as methane and propane, [...] Read more.
Carbon/carbon (C/C) composites are conventionally manufactured by liquid-phase impregnation (LPI), in which the binder pitches and phenolic resins are impregnated into the composites, and by chemical vapor infiltration (CVI). However, CVI has certain limitations in that expensive gases, such as methane and propane, are used and a long reaction time is required. Therefore, LPI is more widely used, as it employs economical pitches. In this study, the effects of one-step preparation on mechanical properties of C/C composites impregnated with mesophase binder pitches and phenolic resins have been investigated. The C/C composites containing four types of 20 wt.% mesophase binder pitches had differences in softening point (SP) and quinoline insoluble (QI) contents. After conducting trials on mesophase formation using different heat treatment temperatures and times, the best density and mechanical properties of the C/C composites were achieved using the mesophase binder pitches with 170 °C SP. However, when SP 200 °C was used, the density of the C/C composites was not further improved. This is because the binder pitches were not properly impregnated into the composites due to the high viscosity and QI of the binder pitches. Furthermore, the C/C composites fabricated with 20 wt.% pitch 2 exhibited the highest mechanical properties. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Surface Modification of Carbons)
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13 pages, 2456 KiB  
Article
Non-Curing Thermal Interface Materials with Graphene Fillers for Thermal Management of Concentrated Photovoltaic Solar Cells
by Barath Kanna Mahadevan, Sahar Naghibi, Fariborz Kargar and Alexander A. Balandin
C 2020, 6(1), 2; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/c6010002 - 22 Dec 2019
Cited by 20 | Viewed by 4199
Abstract
Temperature rise in multi-junction solar cells reduces their efficiency and shortens their lifetime. We report the results of the feasibility study of passive thermal management of concentrated multi-junction solar cells with the non-curing graphene-enhanced thermal interface materials. Using an inexpensive, scalable technique, graphene [...] Read more.
Temperature rise in multi-junction solar cells reduces their efficiency and shortens their lifetime. We report the results of the feasibility study of passive thermal management of concentrated multi-junction solar cells with the non-curing graphene-enhanced thermal interface materials. Using an inexpensive, scalable technique, graphene and few-layer graphene fillers were incorporated in the non-curing mineral oil matrix, with the filler concentration of up to 40 wt% and applied as the thermal interface material between the solar cell and the heat sink. The performance parameters of the solar cells were tested using an industry-standard solar simulator with concentrated light illumination at 70× and 200× suns. It was found that the non-curing graphene-enhanced thermal interface material substantially reduces the temperature rise in the solar cell and improves its open-circuit voltage. The decrease in the maximum temperature rise enhances the solar cell performance compared to that with the commercial non-cured thermal interface material. The obtained results are important for the development of the thermal management technologies for the next generation of photovoltaic solar cells. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Surface Modification of Carbons)
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Review

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45 pages, 4777 KiB  
Review
The Role of Functionalization in the Applications of Carbon Materials: An Overview
by Giorgio Speranza
C 2019, 5(4), 84; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/c5040084 - 11 Dec 2019
Cited by 49 | Viewed by 9615
Abstract
The carbon-based materials (CbMs) refer to a class of substances in which the carbon atoms can assume different hybridization states (sp1, sp2, sp3) leading to different allotropic structures -. In these substances, the carbon atoms can form [...] Read more.
The carbon-based materials (CbMs) refer to a class of substances in which the carbon atoms can assume different hybridization states (sp1, sp2, sp3) leading to different allotropic structures -. In these substances, the carbon atoms can form robust covalent bonds with other carbon atoms or with a vast class of metallic and non-metallic elements, giving rise to an enormous number of compounds from small molecules to long chains to solids. This is one of the reasons why the carbon chemistry is at the basis of the organic chemistry and the biochemistry from which life on earth was born. In this context, the surface chemistry assumes a substantial role dictating the physical and chemical properties of the carbon-based materials. Different functionalities are obtained by bonding carbon atoms with heteroatoms (mainly oxygen, nitrogen, sulfur) determining a certain reactivity of the compound which otherwise is rather weak. This holds for classic materials such as the diamond, the graphite, the carbon black and the porous carbon but functionalization is widely applied also to the carbon nanostructures which came at play mainly in the last two decades. As a matter of fact, nowadays, in addition to fabrication of nano and porous structures, the functionalization of CbMs is at the basis of a number of applications as catalysis, energy conversion, sensing, biomedicine, adsorption etc. This work is dedicated to the modification of the surface chemistry reviewing the different approaches also considering the different macro and nano allotropic forms of carbon. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Surface Modification of Carbons)
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