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In this article portable Raman spectroscopy as an effective tool for at-line characterization of carbon black is presented. Raman spectroscopic analysis can be an effective test to characterize carbon black material, including the structural order.

Raman spectroscopy is a valuable tool for the characterization of carbon nanomaterials due to its selectivity, speed, and ability to measure samples nondestructively. Carbon materials typically have simple Raman spectra, but they contain a wealth of information about internal microcrystalline structures in peak position, shape, and relative intensity.

Conventional methods used to analyze moisture, ash, fixed carbon, and volatile content in coal samples, are time consuming and costly. Near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy is excellently suited to determine all parameters simultaneously in less than one minute without any sample preparation.

Carbon materials are a remarkable choice as electrode surfaces. They are not only cost-effective and chemically inert, but also have a low background current and a wide potential window. Physical and chemical properties of new carbon nanomaterials depend mainly on their structure, so their characterization is essential to choose the right material for different applications.Raman spectroscopy is a very attractive technique for this purpose, effortlessly distinguishing information about the bond structure of carbon materials, and, therefore, about their possible properties. DropSens screen-printed electrodes (SPEs) are low-cost, disposable devices, available with working electrodes fabricated in several carbon materials. This Application Note describes how their properties can be studied by Raman spectroscopy.

Spectroelectrochemistry is a multi-response technique that provides electrochemical and spectroscopic information about a chemical system in a single experiment, i.e., it offers information from two different points of view. Raman spectroelectrochemistry could be considered as one of the best techniques for both the characterization and behavioral understanding of carbon nanotube films, as it has traditionally been used to obtain information about their oxidation-reduction processes as well as the vibrational structure. This application note describes how the SPELEC RAMAN is used to characterize single-walled carbon nanotubes by studying their electrochemical doping in aqueous solution as well as to evaluate their defect density.

This Application Note compares SPELEC RAMAN and a standard Raman instrument by analyzing their performance in measuring single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNT).

The iodine adsorption number (IAN) of carbon black is related to the surface area and can therefore be used for the characterization of carbon black. The presence of volatiles, surface porosity, or extractables will influence the iodine adsorption number. In this Application Note, the fully automated determination of the iodine adsorption number including sample preparation is described.

Boehm titration is a quantitative analysis of functional groups on the surface of carbon materials based on their reactions with basic solutions of NaHCO3 (pKa = 6.4), Na2CO3 (pKa = 10.3), and NaOH (pKa = 15.7). This is a cost-efficient method that gives absolute values with high precision of the accessible, mainly oxygen-containing functional groups on the surface. Originally, Boehm titration was developed for carbon materials like conductive carbon black (CCB), activated carbon, porous carbon, and graphite. Modern carbon-based materials like graphene, graphene oxide (GO), or carbon nanotubes can also be analyzed this way.

The pH value in carbon black, an essential additive in modern lithium-ion batteries, is accurately and reliably analyzed in this Application Note by using the 913 pH Meter equipped with a Unitrode easyClean according to ASTM D1512 as well as ISO 787-9 and GB/T 1717-1986.