Mechanochemical Functionalization of Carbon Black at Room Temperature

Carbon nanomaterials such as carbon blacks are intrinsically hydrophobic with limited wettability in aqueous media, thus restricting their potential applications. To improve their hydrophilicity, common methods tend to utilize harmful chemicals and conditions, such as a mixture of KMnO4 and H2SO4 or a complex and expensive synthesis setup. In our work, we report a simple method to improve the wettability of these materials by a mechanochemical treatment completed within 1 h at room-temperature utilizing a NH3 solution. Besides increasing the specific surface area of the carbon black from 67 m(2)g(-1) up to 307 m(2)g(-1), our process also incorporates nitrogen- and oxygen-containing functional groups into the carbon. This reduces the contact angle from 80 degrees to 30 degrees, confirming an enhanced wettability. Our work presents an easy, fast, and straightforward pathway towards the functionalization of carbon nanomaterials and can be of use in various applications where aqueous wettability is advantageous.