Superhydrophobic Functionalized Graphene Aerogels

Carbon-based nanomaterials such as carbon nanotubes and graphene are excellent candidates for superhydrophobic surfaces because of their intrinsically high surface area and nonpolar carbon structure. This paper demonstrates that graphene aerogels with a silane surface modification can provide superhydrophobicity. Graphene aerogels of various concentrations were synthesized and the receding contact angle of a water droplet was measured. It is shown that graphene aerogels are hydrophobic and become superhydrophobic following the application of a fluorinated surfactant. The aerogels produced for this experiment outperform previous carbon nanomaterials in creating superhydrophobic surfaces and offer a more scalable synthetic procedure for production.