Long-term and thermally stable superhydrophobic surfaces of carbon nanofibers

Nü Wang; Jinming Xi; Shutao Wang; Huan Liu; Lin Feng; Lei Jiang

doi:10.1016/j.jcis.2008.01.005

Long-term and thermally stable superhydrophobic surfaces of carbon nanofibers

J Colloid Interface Sci. 2008 Apr 15;320(2):365-8. doi: 10.1016/j.jcis.2008.01.005. Epub 2008 Mar 4.

Authors

Nü Wang¹, Jinming Xi, Shutao Wang, Huan Liu, Lin Feng, Lei Jiang

Affiliation

¹ Department of Chemistry, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, People's Republic of China.

PMID: 18295229
DOI: 10.1016/j.jcis.2008.01.005

Abstract

Carbon nanofibers were prepared from polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) by a simple wetting-compatible method. The surfaces of the aligned carbon nanofibers show excellent thermal- and time-stable superhydrophobicity. The average water contact angle (CA) values are about 153.1+/-2.2 degrees at room temperature, with little difference coming from experimental error. In addition, the CA of the aligned carbon nanofibers surface maintains 139.1+/-3.2 degrees after 10 months of exposure to the ambient environment. Nanostructure on the surface of carbon nanofibers and the intrinsic thermal resistance of carbon contribute to this unique surface property.