Defect/Edge-Selective Functionalization of Carbon Materials by "Direct" Friedel-Crafts Acylation Reaction

Jeong-Min Seo; Loon-Seng Tan; Jong-Beom Baek

doi:10.1002/adma.201606317

Defect/Edge-Selective Functionalization of Carbon Materials by "Direct" Friedel-Crafts Acylation Reaction

Adv Mater. 2017 May;29(19). doi: 10.1002/adma.201606317. Epub 2017 Feb 21.

Authors

Jeong-Min Seo¹, Loon-Seng Tan², Jong-Beom Baek¹

Affiliations

¹ Center for Dimension-Controllable Organic Framework, School of Energy and Chemical Engineering, Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST), 50 UNIST, Ulsan, 44919, Republic of Korea.
² Functional Materials Division, Materials & Manufacturing Directorate, AFRL/RXAS, US Air Force Research Laboratory, 1864 4th St, Wright-Patterson AFB, OH, 45433, USA.

PMID: 28220965
DOI: 10.1002/adma.201606317

Abstract

Popularly utilized oxidation media, via nitric acid/sulfuric acid mixtures, are too corrosive and oxidizing to preserve structural integrity of highly ordered graphitic materials (carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and graphene). Here, for the most commonly used oxidation method, the important advantages of defect/edge-selective functionalization of carbon materials (CNTs/graphene/graphite) in a polyphosphoric acid (PPA)/phosphorous pentoxide (P₂ O₅ ) medium are elucidated. The optimized PPA/P₂ O₅ medium is a mild acid that is not only less corrosive than popularly utilized oxidation media, but also has a strong capability to drive Friedel-Crafts acylation by covalently modifying carbon materials. With a broader spectrum of functional groups accessible, the PPA/P₂ O₅ -driven Friedel-Crafts acylation offers more options for tailoring the properties and processing of carbon materials.

Keywords: Friedel-Crafts acylation; carbon nanotubes; defect/edge-selective functionalization; graphene; macromolecules.

Publication types

Review