Document Type
Article
Original Publication Date
2014
Journal/Book/Conference Title
Journal of Chemical Physics
Volume
141
First Page
18C517
DOI of Original Publication
https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4895541
Date of Submission
May 2022
Abstract
Measurements of contact angle on graphene sheets show a notable dependence on the nature of the underlying substrate, a phenomenon termed wetting transparency. Our molecular modeling studies reveal analogous transparency in case of submerged graphene fragments in water. A combined effect of attractive dispersion forces, angle correlations between aqueous dipoles, and repulsion due to the hydrogen-bond-induced orientation bias in polarized hydration layers acting across graphene sheet, enhances apparent adhesion of water to graphene. We show wetting free energy of a fully wetted graphene platelet to be about 8 mNm−1 lower than for graphene wetted only on one side, which gives close to 10◦ reduction in contact angle. This difference has potential implications for predictions of water absorption vs. desorption, phase behavior of water in aqueous nanoconfinements, solvent- induced interactions among graphitic nanoparticle and concomitant stability in aqueous dispersions, and can influence permeability of porous materials such as carbon nanotubes by water and aqueous solutions.
Rights
© 2014 AIP Publishing LLC
Is Part Of
VCU Chemistry Publications
Comments
This article may be downloaded for personal use only. Any other use requires prior permission of the author and AIP Publishing. This article appeared in J. Chem. Phys. 141, 18C517 (2014) and may be found at https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4895541.