Surface-oxidized carbon fibers: I. Surface structure and chemistry Original Research Article

The surface structure and chemistry of various surface oxidized HT carbon fibers, an IM and a HM carbon fiber were studied by SEM, STM, CAM (contact angle measurement), XPS and TPD with special reference to adsorbed oxidation products and adsorbed water. It is shown that a real image of surface structure and surface chemistry is only obtained after removal of adsorbed oxidation products by extraction with water and careful drying of the fibers without changing the surface chemistry. A comparison on the usefulness of the various surface analytical methods will be given in Parts II–IV of this paper.