Formation of oxygen complexes in controlled atmosphere at surface of doped glassy carbon

The effects of boron and phosphorus incorporation in phenolic resin precursor to the oxidation resistance of glassy carbon have been studied. In order to reveal the nature and composition of the oxygen complexes formed at the surface of doped glassy carbon, under controlled atmosphere, the surface of the samples was cleaned under vacuum up to 1273 K. Specific functional groups, subsequently formed under dry CO2 or O2 atmosphere on the surface of boron-doped and phosphorus-doped glassy carbon samples, were examined using the temperature-programmed desorption method combined with mass spectrometric analysis. Characterization of surface properties of undoped and doped samples has shown that in the presence of either boron or phosphorus heteroatoms, a lower amount of oxygen complexes formed after CO2 exposure, while, typically, higher amount of oxygen complexes formed after O2 exposure. It has been concluded that the surface of undoped glassy carbon has a greater affinity towards CO2, while in the presence of either boron or phosphorus heteroatoms, the glassy carbon surface affinity becomes greater towards O2, under experimental conditions.