Plasma-Corona Modifications of Carbon Fibers and Carbon Nanostructures

Carbon-based materials, including carbon fibers (CFs), carbon nanotubes (CNTs), carbon nanofibers (CNFs), carbon black (CB), graphene, and fullerenes, have garnered significant attention due to their unique physical and chemical properties, making them ideal for various applications such as nanomedical devices, nanophotonic devices, room temperature photocatalysts, nanoimprinted biomimetic sensors, and composites. Even though carbon nanomaterials offer diverse application potential, it still faces some major challenges which include but are not limited to biocompatibility, interfacial bonding with polymers, thermal stability, cytotoxicity, mechanical properties, and processing. Many of these challenges could be resolved by the surface modification of CFs and carbon nanostructures (CNSs) via different strategies such as chemical and physical vapor deposition, surface functionalization, surface etching, and oxidation. Among these different methods, low-temperature plasma (LTP)-assisted surface treatment has received special attention as it is a green and efficient methodology that can alter the materials’ surface properties without affecting their bulk. Hence, it is very important to get an overview of some of the latest developments that are taking place in this field. This chapter attempts to recapitulate the current state of the art in plasma-assisted surface modifications of different carbonaceous materials with special attention to CFs and CNSs.