Classifying nanostructured carbons using graphitic indices derived from Raman spectra

Raman scattering is known to be a unique characterization tool for carbon-based materials such as graphite, diamond, graphene and nanostructured carbons. In this article, we propose a new parameter for estimating the crystallinity of nanostructured carbons. This new parameter estimates the length of the curved graphene planes. To take into account the effect of curvature, the importance of the second-order band at about 2700 cm(-1) is emphasized. Using this new parameter, we propose a classification of different nanostructured carbons. The relevance of this new parameter for characterizing nanostructured carbons is confirmed by transmission electron microscopy. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.