Carbon nanostructure-based superhydrophobic surfaces and coatings

Abstract

Research and development on superhydrophobic carbon nanostructures and their nanocomposites have high industrial significance. Here, a comprehensive review of the topic is provided. Reported works on superhydrophobic surfaces and coatings of carbon nanotubes, nanofibres, nanospheres/nanothorns/others, nanodiamond, fullerene and their various nanocomposites with metals, ceramics, and polymers are described. Superhydrophobic nanostructured carbon soot, graphitic carbon, and others are also presented. The section on superhydrophobic graphene is presented concisely at the end. Reports in different application areas, including anti-corrosion, anti-icing, oil separation, anti-biofouling, and sensors, are discussed separately. Superoleophobic and superamphiphobic surfaces are also discussed.

Carbon Nanotube Enhanced Filtration and Dewatering of Kerosene

“…Rapid adsorption-desorption on the CNT surface resulted in active diffusion of the kerosene, which increased permeate flux [16,23,24,[30][31][32][33][34]. On the other hand, micro/nano water droplets quickly rolled and coalesced due to repulsive forces on CNTs, during which they interacted with one another and began to assemble into larger droplets [4,5,[7][8][9][10]. This enhanced water separation during the filtration process [11,12,21,25,[35][36][37][38].…”

“…There have been significant efforts in developing nanostructured membranes in various applications, and of particular interest have been carbon nanotubes (CNTs) [7,[9][10][11][12]. Recently, we have demonstrated that immobilising CNTs in different types of membranes (referred to as CNIM) alters the solute-membrane interactions [13].…”

A highly transparent and photothermal composite coating for effective anti-/de-icing of glass surfaces

“…11 Photothermal conversion coating is a promising material for anti/de-icing of glass surfaces. [12][13][14] Various photothermal materials, including functional inks from cuttlesh, 15 carbon-based materials, [16][17][18] metal ceramics, 19 CVD-deposited graphene, 20,21 and carbon nanotubes, 14,22,23 have been used in research studies to develop anti/de-icing surfaces. Currently, these photothermal conversion coatings are typically applied in anti/de-icing studies of aircra wings, [24][25][26] large equipment, 27,28 and under other particularly extreme environmental conditions.…”

Superhydrophobic materials used for anti-icing Theory, application, and development

“…SEs of chemically exfoliated graphene and graphene oxide (GO) have shown to be 46.7 and 62.1 mJ/m 2 , in that order, whereas that of normal graphite flake was ∼54.8 mJ/m 2 ( Wang et al., 2009b ). As a member of carbon nanostructures and their composites, graphene has attracted extensive attention due to its high specific surface area, excellent electrical conductivity, excellent thermal conductivity, and excellent mechanical strength ( Geim, 2009 ; Saji, 2021 ). Jiang et al.…”