Abstract
Vertically aligned multiwalled carbon nanotubes (v-CNTs) were functionalized with oxygen groups using low kinetic energy oxygen ion irradiation. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis indicates that oxygen ion irradiation produces three different types of oxygen functional groups at the CNTs surface: epoxide, carbonyl and carboxyl groups. The relative concentration of these groups depends on the parameters used for oxygen ion irradiation. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) shows that the macroscopic structure and alignment of v-CNTS are not affected by the ion irradiation and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) proves tip functionalization of v-CNTs. We observed that in comparison to oxygen plasma treatment, oxygen ion irradiation shows higher functionalization efficiency and versatility. Ion irradiation leads to higher amount of oxygen grafting at the v-CNTs surface, besides different functional groups and their relative concentration can be tuned varying the irradiation parameters.
Highlights
Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are nanostructured material with high technological importance owing to their unique chemical and electronic properties
Vertically aligned multi-walled carbon nanotubes (v-CNTs) are functionalized with oxygen groups using low kinetic energy ion irradiation, we evaluate the influence of the ion kinetic energy and irradiation time in the resulting oxygen functionalization
The macroscopic morphology and alignment of Vertically aligned multiwalled carbon nanotubes (v-CNTs) were evaluated with Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) microscopy before and after the oxygen ion irradiation in order to estimate if disorder was induced by ions impacting onto the sample surface
Summary
Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are nanostructured material with high technological importance owing to their unique chemical and electronic properties. They have been reported as good candidates to replace silicon in different electronic devices due to their higher carrier velocity, nanoscale structure and relative low-cost large scale production [1]. Their inert surface limits their use in several applications, such as biological and gas sensor devices [2,3,4]. Oxygen groups can act as active sites for further functionalization increasing their potential applications in a vast variety of fields, such as drug delivery, bio imaging, water purification and catalysis, among others [9]
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