Fluorinated carbon blacks: influence of the morphology of the starting material on the fluorination mechanism Original Research Article

The effect of fluorination, using CF4 r.f. plasmas, has been studied on three different types of carbon blacks: a thermal black, a furnace black and a high electrical conducting black. The influences of the morphology and structure of the three blacks on the fluorination mechanism have been investigated. In particular, the ratio Type I/Type II structures (i.e., surface (CF) and border groups of graphitic domains with sp2C/polyalicyclic perfluorinated structures with sp3C), has been correlated to the microstructural organisation. The transformation into Type II structures is more easily achieved in highly accessible XE2 blacks, whereas in materials with lower crystallinity (MT), the presence of numerous defects leads preferentially to surface (CFx) perfluorinated groups.