Evaluation of surfactant-free stabilized vapor grown carbon fibers with ζ- potential and Raman spectroscopy

Commonly utilized mixed acids (H2SO4:HNO3 = 3:1, v/v) is utilized to investigate the covalent functionalization route of VGCF in this work. Sp2 hybrid C–C band of VGCF has been partly converted to sp3 hybrid by covalent treatment as confirmed by Raman and FT-IR spectroscopy results. And the converted C–C hybrid which results in the increased surface defects of fibers is identified to various hydrophilic groups. ζ-Potential and size distribution analysis of VGCF with/without treatment effectively explain that improved solubility is attributed to the enhanced electrostatic interaction between shortened VGCF collides and water. Finally, we give a proposal for the chemical functionlization route of VGCF based on the available characterization results.

A functionalization route of as-received VGCF has been proposed as shown in Fig. 1.Figure optionsDownload as PowerPoint slideHighlights
► Discussing the treating conditions in much more detail.
► Insight on the covalent way of VGCF-X® by powerful characterization ways.
► Effective characterization methods have been employed to detect the influence of pre-treatment in each step.
► Surface changes have been discussed based on the characterization results and compared with other studies, it is concluded that increased hydrophilic ability of nano-material is attributed to the various functional groups by pre-treatment.
► A novel research technology has been reported in a system.