Vijaya Rangari¹, Zaheeruddin Mohammed¹, Shaik Jeelani¹; ¹Tuskegee University

Plasma, due to its ability to interact with matter at nano and meso scales it can be used as a tool to alter surface properties of various nanomaterial materials including carbon. These treatments can not only achieve desired surface properties by changing the functional group densities but also alter the crystallinity of material. The focus of this work is to study the effects of plasma treatment on in-situ synthesized carbon from various renewable sources and waste materials. Effect of various parameters like type of gas (SF6, O2, Ar and Air), plasma density, electromagnetic radiation and flux of ionized matter on the surface properties of the material are characterized by various techniques including spectroscopic and microscopic. This study shows that the plasma treatment effect in altering the surface interactions of nanomaterials with other materials which would be otherwise achieved through rigorous chemical and physical modifications.