Hydrophilic carbon onions synthesized by millisecond pulsed laser irradiation

Carbon onions with hydrophilic characteristics were synthesized through irradiating carbon black suspension using millisecond pulsed laser at room temperature. Laser energy absorption resulted in the structure transformation of carbon black and the formation of hydrophilic groups on the surface of carbon onion. Carbon onions with hollow cores and the incomplete graphitic shells were produced from the starting materials under high and low laser power density, respectively.