LOW-TEMPERATURE GENERATION OF BASIC CARBON SURFACES BY HYDROGEN SPILLOVER

It is demonstrated that stable basic carbons, which will not adsorb ox ygen in ambient laboratory conditions, can be created via a relatively low-temperature process. These highly basic carbons are created by tr eating mixtures of carbons and platinum (in the form of particles supp orted on a high surface area material) in hydrogen at 500 degrees C, o r even at lower temperatures in some cases. In the absence of platinum , creation of highly basic and stable surfaces with the same starting material requires hydrogen treatments at far higher temperatures (ca. 900 degrees C). Evidence is presented to support the hypothesis that t he role played by platinum (or any noble metal) is to produce atomic h ydrogen, which spills over onto the carbon surface. This atomic hydrog en hydrogasifies the most reactive, unsaturated carbon atoms al far lo wer temperatures than molecular hydrogen, thus leading to surface stab ilization at relatively low temperatures.