文摘
Electrochemical reduction of a wide variety of aromatic diazoniumsalts on carbon electrodes (glassycarbon, highly oriented pyrolytic graphite) leads to the covalentattachment of the corresponding aromatic radicals.The films thus deposited on glassy carbon surfaces requiremechanical abrasion to be removed. Cyclicvoltammetry,X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, polarization modulation IR reflectionabsorption spectroscopy, Auger spectroscopy,and Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy allow the characterizationof the overlayer and an estimate of the surfacecoverage. The latter can be controlled through diazoniumconcentration and electrolysis duration. Themechanismof derivatization is discussed on the basis of the kinetic dataobtained from cyclic voltammetry and preparativeelectrolysis. This versatile method of surface modification mayfind applications in the field of carbon-epoxycomposites as attested by the successful binding of graftedp-aminophenyl groups with epichlorhydrin.