title: Hydrothermal core-shell carbon nanoparticle films: thinning the shell leads to dramatic pH response.
abstract: Carbon nanoparticles with phenylsulfonate negative surface functionality (Emperor 2000, Cabot Corp.) are coated with positive chitosan followed by hydrothermal carbonization to give highly pH-responsive core-shell nanocarbon composite materials. With optimised core-shell ratio (resulting in an average shell thickness of ca. 4 nm, estimated from SANS data) modified electrodes exhibit highly pH-sensitive resistance, capacitance, and Faradaic electron transfer responses (solution based, covalently bound, or hydrothermally embedded). A shell "double layer exclusion" mechanism is discussed to explain the observed pH switching effects. Based on this mechanism, a broader range of future applications of responsive core-shell nanoparticles are envisaged.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Advanced Technology for Materials Synthesis and Processing, Wuhan University of Technology, 430070, China.
authors.forename: Fengjie
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Xia
authors.forename: Mu
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pan
authors.forename: Shichun
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mu
authors.forename: Yuli
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Xiong
authors.forename: Karen J
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: Edler
authors.forename: Ilaria
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Idini
authors.forename: Matthew D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Jones
authors.forename: Shik Chi
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Tsang
authors.forename: Frank
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Marken
mesh_terms: D002244:Carbon / Q000737:chemistry*; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D053758:Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry*; D010316:Particle Size; D013499:Surface Properties; D013696:Temperature
chemical_list: D002244:Carbon