MECHANISTIC ASPECTS OF THE REACTION BETWEEN CARBON AND OXYGEN

The nominally simple reaction between carbon in its graphitic modifications and molecular oxygen involves a complex sequence of reactions some of which are controlled by the topochemistry of the substrate. The paper presents attempts to characterise the initial carbon surface and is modifications during burn-off by chemical and spectroscopic techniques. Analysis of the topochemical aspect requires knowledge of the microscopic surface structure of, in particular, defective sections. Scanning tunnelling microscopy (STM) can give some insights into the local surface structure of partly reacted graphitic materials. Local electronic anomalies at step edges detected in STM are in agreement with their special reactivity postulated in models of the reaction mechanism.