Modification of glassy carbon properties under low energy proton irradiation

Glassy carbon plates were irradiated with 15 keV H+ ion-beam in the fluence range of 1 × 1016–3 × 1018 ion cm−2. The influence of ion irradiation on surface morphology and topology was examined by scanning electron and atomic force microscopy. Structural changes were monitored by Raman spectrometry, while changes of wettability and the content of surface oxygen complexes were examined by contact angle measurements and temperature programmed desorption. Elastic recoil detection analysis was applied for determination of hydrogen concentration profiles in irradiated samples. Cyclic voltammetry was used for the assessment of the electrochemical properties of modified glassy carbon electrodes. It was concluded that there is critical fluence range (2 × 1017–5 × 1017 ion cm−2) inside of which significant changes of glassy carbon properties occur.