Physicochemical Characterizations of Functionalized Carbon Nanostructures

The diversity of carbon nanostructures information is expanding as our understanding of nanoscale environments of nanomaterials increases with new advances in materials design and nanochemistry. Nanomaterial surfaces have dangling bonds with a partial electric charge that increases the surface energy and reactivity. Surface passivation or functionalization with anchoring molecules overcomes this problem. Chemical functionalization involves the carbon network modification, introducing heteroatoms, known as doping, or forming covalent bonds with functional groups and even molecules changing their physical and chemical properties with the possibility of having different applications like drug carriers, imaging technology, biosensors, air, and water filters. This chapter presents experimental procedures to study functionalized carbon nanostructures due to the importance of having an accurate instrument for chemical analysis that converts the information collected from the physical and chemical characteristics of carbon nanostructures into data for interpretation. Providing the sample with a stimulus of electromagnetic, mechanical, or nuclear energy generates a response that will provide the expected analytical information.