Characterization of carbon black modified by maleic acid

摘要

We present here a method for modifying the surface of carbon black (CB) using a simple heat treatment in the presence of a carboxylic acid as well as water or ethylene glycol as a solvent. CB was mixed with maleic acid and either water or ethylene glycol, and heated at 250℃. Unlike the traditional surface modification processes which use heat treatment of carbon with mineral acids the present modification method using a carboxylic acid proved to be simple and time efficient. CB from two different vendors was used, and the modified samples were characterized by TGA, BET surface area measurement, XRD, particle size and zeta potential measurements, and FTIR. It was found that several material properties, including thermal stability and surface area, of the modified CB are significantly altered relative to the parental carbon samples. This method provides a rapid and simple route to tailor new materials with desired properties.