3-D morphological characterization of carbon black aggregates using atomic force microscopy Original Research Article

We use atomic force microscopy (AFM) to characterize the structure of carbon black aggregates. From the images we determine the lateral sizes and the height of the aggregates and from this data we calculate the flatness index. The flatness indices reveal that aggregates generally exhibit anisotropy, in the form of a reduction of aggregate breadth, or flatness, in one direction. The flat sides tend to align preferentially along the plane of the substrate. The flatness index depends on the grade and is related to the turbulence of the flow of gases inside the reactor. The data on the flatness index are compared with similar data obtained from transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and compressed CDBP analysis.