Comparative studies on Graphite and Carbon Black powders, and their dispersions

Abstract

The colloidal dispersions of Carbon Black (CB) and Graphite powders were prepared in dimethylformamide (DMF) and dimethylsulphoxide (DMSO) as solvent using a facile method. These dispersions were characterized using Ultraviolet-Visible (UV–Vis) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. The Tauc's relation in UV–Vis data affirmed high band gap of 3.32eV for Graphite suspension in DMSO solvent (GSO) and low band gap of 1.96eV for CB in DMSO solvent (CBSO). This is due to minimum absorbance of GSO in UV–Vis spectra and inverse relationship of particle size with band gap. The Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy facilitated the study of interaction between solvents (DMSO, DMF) and carbon powders (Graphite, CB). The CB powders showed wider particle size distribution than Graphite powders in Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) micrographs and even confirmed by span factor calculation. And, X-ray diffraction (XRD) results endorsed amorphous nature of CB powder having short range order in contrast to Graphite powder. Thus, particle size and amorphous nature could be linked with the higher stability of dispersions of CB than that of the Graphite.