The effect of oxyfluorinated conditions on the Surface characteristics of carbon fibers was investigated. Infrared (IR) spectroscopy results indicated that the oxyfluorinated carbon fibers showed carboxyl/ester groups (C=O) at 1632 cm(-1) and hydroxyl groups (O-H) at 3450 cm(-1) and had a higher O-H peak intensity than that of the fluorinated ones. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) results for the fibers also showed that oxyfluorination introduced a much higher oxygen concentration onto the fiber surfaces than fluorination with F-2 only. Additionally, contact-angle results showed that the surface was better wetted by following oxyfluorination and that the polarity of the surface was increased by increasing the oxyfluorination temperature. (C) 2008 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.