Wetting Stability of Supported Graphene in Ambient Environment

• Published in: Advanced engineering materials 2022-06, Vol.24 (6), p.n/a
• Main Authors: Li, Xuemei, Li, Zhengyang, Long, Yuyang, He, Yanshuang, Li, Baowen, Li, Jidong, Qiu, Hu, Yin, Jun, Guo, Wanlin
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: graphene; stability; substrate; wettability
• ISSN: 1438-1656; 1527-2648
• DOI: 10.1002/adem.202101283

The evaluation of the wetting stability of supported graphene in ambient environment is important for its practical applications. Herein, it is shown by experiments that a monolayer graphene coating can alter the water contact angles of various substrates to a converged value around 80–85° in ambient environment, almost independent of substrate materials, graphene layer numbers as well as long‐term air exposure up to 14 months. First‐principles calculations and van der Waals modeling indicate that a monolayer graphene is sufficient to alter both short‐range and long‐range interactions of a water molecule with various substrates to a converged state. The stable wettability of graphene would facilitate its practical applications, ranging from functional coatings, liquid gated electronic devices, and other areas requiring its exposure to water. A monolayer graphene coating is enough to alter the water contact angles of various substrates to a converged value around 80–85° in ambient, independent of substrate materials, graphene layer numbers as well as long‐term air exposure up to 14 months, facilitating its practical applications ranging from functional coatings to liquid gated electronic devices.