Chemical modification of carbon by diazonium chemistry

FUEL 242

Mathieu Toupin and Daniel Bélanger, belanger.daniel@uqam.ca. Département de Chimie, UQAM, Case Postale 8888, succursale Centre-Ville, Montréal, QC H3C 3P8, Canada
Carbon powders were functionalized with various 4-substituted phenyl groups by reaction with the corresponding amine in aqueous solution. The surface of the modified carbons was characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, which showed the presence of the characteristic peaks for each of the grafted groups. Elemental analysis of the modified carbon was performed in order to estimate the surface coverage of the grafted groups. Thermogravimetric analysis in air showed that the moieties on the surface were fairly stable since mass losses, corresponding to the removal of the surface groups, occurred between 200-400 °C.