Surface topography and its influence on the activity of carbon black

The surface topography of different carbon black grades has been studied by STM. The high resolution of the method enables detailed images of the surf ace to be obtained. The activity of different grades has been attributed to the lateral dimensions of the graphitelike nanocrystalites acid their degr ee of orientation with respect to the surface. Fractal dimensions of the surface were obtained by the root-mean-square and the Richardson methods. The results are compared with fractal dimensions o btained by x-ray small angle scattering.