Surface characteristics of direct fluorinated single-walled carbon nanotubes

The single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) produced by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) were directly fluorinated with fluorine (F₂) gas in a temperature range 20 ~ 400°C. The surface properties and morphology of the SWCNTs were investigated in terms of fluorination temperature. As a result, Raman spectra showed a pair of bands at 1340 and 1590 cm^-1 peculiar to disordered sp²-carbons. These results indicated that C-F bonds were formed on the rear surfaces of the nanotubes by fluorination, while the external surfaces as well as the layers between the internal and external surfaces retained their sp²-hybridization. XPS analysis exhibited that fluorine atoms were bonded to carbon atoms on internal surfaces (rear surfaces) of the nanotubes and the amount of fluorine attached on the nanotubes was increased with increasing the fluorination temperature. Consequently, the direct fluorination of carbon nanotubes led to functionalization and modification of pristine nanotubes with respect to surface and morphological properties.