The role of oxygen heteroatoms in the surface (electro)chemistry of carbon materials

Abstract

Engineering the surface chemistry of carbon-based materials is of crucial importance in tuning their intrinsic properties, including electrical conductivity, wettability, electroactivity, adsorption potential, reactivity, physical and chemical stability. Intense research has recently focused on understanding the role of surface oxygen functional groups when carbon materials are in contact with an electrolyte or solvent in order to tailor and improve them for technological applications. For this purpose, their synthesis method and/or further oxidation treatments should be carefully selected, since they can substantially influence not only the oxygen content, but also the nature of the oxygen moieties, which could be decisive in determining the surface properties of the resulting material. The combined use of different chemical, spectroscopic and electrochemical techniques, provides unique and reliable information about the contribution of a specific oxygen-containing group in the surface (electro)chemistry of carbon-based materials. This paper provides a discussion of the role of oxygen heteroatoms in the surface electrochemistry of a carbon material as they relate to their influence on both its electroactivity and reactivity.