Surface chemistry oxygen-containing functional groups

The surface chemistry of a carbon is known to play a crucial role in many applications, most notably in adsorption and catalysis [91-94]. It has been observed that the surface of templated porous carbons mainly has oxygen-containing functional groups, such as carboxyl, carbonyl, quinone, and hydroxyl [76,94,95]. Such groups, especially the carboxyls, can be eliminated by high-temperature... 

The advanced surface chemistries mentioned in these examples are not a result of the actual synthesis, but rather must be introduced after the synthesis using additional treatments. Oxidation, currently the most common method used for carbon functionalization, introduces a variety of oxygen-containing functional groups to carbon surfaces. These oxygen-modified surfaces can serve as a starting point for further, more advanced functionalization steps. Common foUow-on treatments include the following [125,126] ... 

It should be noted that the reactions between the solution species and the carbons are not the only ones that determine the electrode surface chemistry. The carbon s surface usually contains functional groups, which are formed as a result of reactions of the carbon with oxygen and water during its manufacture. Thus, the surface may contain, for example, OH, COH, COOH, and NH edge groups, all of which may be reduced as the carbon electrode is polarized to low potentials [90], These reactions can also interfere with the potentiodynamic behavior of these electrodes in electroanalytical and synthetic studies. 

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