The effect of boron incorporation on the structure and properties of glassy carbon

Abstract

Boron was introduced into glassy carbon by chemical modification and by irradiating the precursor polymer with boron ions. Using chemical modification, a polymer with uniform distribution of boron in the bulk was obtained, whereas irradiation with B 3+ produced a polymer with boron located in a narrow region under the surface. Following modification with boron, the samples were carbonized at 1273 K and examined using X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, temperature programmed desorption (TPD) and by hardness measurements. Structural analysis results suggest that boron is mostly substitutionally bonded in the glassy carbon structure regardless of the method used to introduce boron into the polymer precursor. Formation of crosslinks between glassy carbon ribbons during carbonization as a consequence of the recombination of ion beam induced changes in the polymer structure and a high concentration of boron in the subsurface layer is proposed to account for an increase of glassy carbon hardness. An increase in the total amount of surface oxygen groups was observed in the TPD spectra of both boron-modified samples due to an increase in the number of active sites. Results show that the nature of these sites is influenced by the initial distribution of boron in the polymer precursor.