Surface modification of carbon nanohorns by helium plasma and ozone treatments

In this paper, we describe the effects of helium plasma and ozone treatments on the dispersibility of carbon nanohorns (CNHs) in water. The experimental setups have been designed to efficiently generate helium plasma and ozone by dielectric barrier discharge at atmospheric pressure. After being treated with ozone, the oxygen-containing functional groups were introduced to the surface of CNHs, and are responsible for better dispersion. Helium plasma treatment was performed separately and it resulted in hydroxyl functional groups on the surface of CNHs. It was also found that the sizes of CNHs in water were smaller after ozone treatment. However, plasma-treated CNHs were bigger than ozone treated CNHs. The dispersed CNHs modified by ozone treatment were stable for more than three months without precipitation. In contrast, though helium plasma treatment introduced hydroxyl groups to the surface of CNHs, the dispersibility decreased and the flocculation of CNHs was observed in a few minutes.