Exploring the effects of surface chemistry on photosensitivity and stability of modified porous carbon textiles. (May 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Travlou, Nikolina A.; Barczak, Mariusz; Hoffman, Jacob; Bandosz, Teresa J.
• Is Part Of: Carbon. Volume 131(2018)
• Page Start: 1
• Page End: 9
• Publication Date: 2018-05
• Subjects: Carbon -- Periodicals; Carbone -- Périodiques; Koolstof; Toepassingen; Electronic journals; 546.681
• DOI: 10.1016/j.carbon.2018.01.065
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0008-6223

Abstract

Abstract: Heat treatment and/or chemical functionalization ACF-based porous carbon textiles with urea/thiourea resulted in highly heterogeneous materials with a diverse porosity and mechanical strength. The materials were photosensitive in visible light and a generated photocurrent was linked to the effects of the specific surface chemistry and the existence of sp 2 domains. Light exposure led to the reduction of S- and N-containing groups by photogenerated electrons and to oxidation of some carbon atoms by photogenerated holes and chemisorbed oxygen. A photocurrent generation was tested on the samples impregnated with Methylene Blue to explore how the carbon textiles' surface features affect the integrity of a dye. A marked blockage of the porosity and a surface alteration resulted in a decrease in photosensitivity. Among all samples, the one modified with urea showed the highest photoactivity, indicating the important role of a surface nitrogen environment. Graphical abstract: Image 1