Surface modification and characterization of carbon black with oxygen plasma Original Research Article

The surface of carbon black was modified with an oxygen plasma treatment. The initial increase and following reduction of carbon black weight due to the treatment were observed as the treatment time increased. The chemical structure of carbon black surfaces formed by the oxidation process has been characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The XPS OC atomic ratio of the surfaces showed a plateau after an initial increase and saturated at about 0.42 after 120 minutes regardless of the plasma input power. The introduction rate of oxygen-containing functional groups onto the carbon black surfaces increased by increasing the plasma input power. The oxygen plasma was found to cause changes in surface CO or OCO and OCO functionalities, and their concentrations were proved to increase with the treatment time up to about 120 minutes irrespective of the input power.