Enhancement of graphitic order in carbon black using precursor additive

Our present work is aimed at increasing the degree of graphitization of carbon black during the synthesis stage itself. For this purpose, we used lamp black route to synthesize carbon black via catalytic graphitization using ferrocene as an organometallic additive into the precursor olive oil. Degree of graphitization was estimated using Raman spectroscopy and microstructure was determined using transmission electron microscopy (TEM). We found that the degree of graphitization as quantified by the Raman spectroscopy could be doubled by changing the concentration of ferrocene into the precursor oil. The TEM images show the presence of multi-layer graphenes, a few tens of nanometers large, which were completely absent when no additive was used. It is proposed that iron plays the role of graphitization enhancer as Raman, TEM and X-Ray diffraction (XRD) measurements show the presence of iron compounds in the product. Oxidation of iron catalyst mainly limits further growth of graphitic clusters.