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Carbon fibers, obtained by carbonizing poly(p-phenylene benzobisoxazole) (PBO) fibers at 900 °C, graphitize extensively upon heat treatment at higher temperatures (2700 °C). In this work, XRD, Raman spectroscopy, and HRTEM are used to monitor the structural and nanostructural transformations of the carbon material under heat-treatment at several temperatures in the interval 900–2800 °C. These different techniques provide complementary information, especially regarding the spatial resolution they achieve. They highlight a specific nonconventional mode of graphitization for this unexpectedly graphitizable precursor. The reliability in the determination of L a crystallite sizes from these three techniques is compared and discussed. The existence of four steps in the graphitization of PBO-derived carbon fibers is inferred.

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Multilayer graphene (MLGR) and its bulk analog, highly oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG), were treated by radio frequency activated low pressure N 2 gas plasma (at negative bias 0 - pyrrole-and triazine-type at 399.7 eV and N substituting C in graphite-like network at 400.9 eV) were determined from high-resolution N1s spectral region for all samples. Pyridine and pyrrole-triazine components increase preferentially with increasing bias. Alterations of the C1s and O1s spectra are discussed in a critical approach. The amount of reacted carbon was consistent with that required for the three different nitrogen and oxygen states, thus validating the proposed assignments.

The extensive oxygen-group functionality of single-layer graphene oxide proffers useful anchor sites for chemical functionalization in the controlled formation of graphene architecture and composites. However, the physicochemical environment of graphene oxide and its single-atom thickness facilitate its ability to undergo conformational changes due to responses to its environment, whether pH, salinity, or temperature. Here, we report experimental and molecular simulations confirming the conformational changes of single-layer graphene oxide sheets from the wet or dry state. MD, PM6, and ab initio simulations of dry SLG and dry and wetted SLGO and electron microscopy imaging show marked differences in the properties of the materials that can explain variations in previously observed results for the pH dependent behavior of SLGO and electrical conductivity of chemically modified graphene-polymer composites. Understanding the physicochemical responses of graphene and graphene oxide architecture and performing selected chemistry will ultimately facilitate greater tunability of their performance.