Tailoring the surface and interfacial properties of inexpensive and abundant carbon materials plays an increasingly important role for innovative applications including those in electrocatalysis, energy storage, gas separations, and composite materials. Described here is the novel preparation and subsequent use of gaseous iodine azide for the azide modification of carbon surfaces. In-line generation of gaseous iodine azide from iodine monochloride vapor and solid sodium azide is safe and convenient. Immediate treatment of carbon surfaces with this gaseous stream of iodine azide provides a highly reproducible, selective, and scalable azide fiinctionalization that minimizes waste and reduces deleterious side reactions. Among the possible uses of azide-modified surfaces, they serve as versatile substrates for the attachment of additional functionality by coupling-with terminal alkynes under the mild copper-catalyzed azide-alkyne cycloaddition (CuAAC) "click" reaction. For instance, coupling ethynylferrocene to azide-modified glassy carbon surfaces achieves ferrocene coverage up to 8 x 10(13) molecules/cm(2) by voltammetric and XPS analyses. The 1,2,3-triazole linker formed during the CuAAC reaction is robust and hydrolytically stable in both aqueous 1 M HClO4 and 1 M NaOH for at least 12 h at 100 degrees C.