Atomic force microscopy of carbon black aggregates

For the first time atomic force microscopy (AFM) was used for 3D-imaging of isolated carbon black aggregates deposited onto a gold coated glass surface. Even with high structure carbon blacks it was always observed that carbon black aggregates look like ovoids of similar dimensions; they generally lie on their largest surface showing their largest projected area. The dendritic structure of aggregates generally observed in transmission electron microscopy (TEM) must be due to reagglomeration during sample preparation and some general considerations about carbon black structure should be rewieved in the light of these AFM observations