Fluorination of vertically aligned carbon nanotubes: from CF₄ plasma chemistry to surface functionalization

The surface chemistry of plasma fluorinated vertically aligned carbon nanotubes (vCNT) is correlated to the CF₄ plasma chemical composition. The results obtained via FTIR and mass spectrometry are combined with the XPS and Raman analysis of the sample surface showing the dependence on different plasma parameters (power, time and distance from the plasma region) on the resulting fluorination. Photoemission and absorption spectroscopies are used to investigate the evolution of the electronic properties as a function of the fluorine content at the vCNT surface. The samples suffer a limited ageing effect, with a small loss of fluorine functionalities after two weeks in ambient conditions.