Monday, November 5, 2007 - 1:15 PM
72c

Structure-Induced Superhydrophobicity Of Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes

Liang Zhang and Daniel E. Resasco. CBME, University of Oklahoma, 100 E. Boyd, Norman, OK 73019

Functionality of single-walled carbon nanotube(SWNT)-based devices involving fluid flow and wetting process is governed by their surface chemistry. The present study demonstrates the correlation between static contact angle and nano-engineered SWNT structures. Methods for controlled growth and/or rearrangement of SWNT on substrates have been developed and various SWNT micro-structures have been created on a flat surface. These structures range from 2-dimentional SWNT films to 3-dimentional nanotowers comprising vertical SWNT. Those micro-structures, composed of intrinsically hydrophilic graphene sheet, exhibited a large variation of surface property due to dual size roughness at both nano- and micro-scale. Close-packed flat SWNT films show relatively low roughness and thus behave similar to a graphite surface. By contrast, vertically aligned SWNT forest displays high hydrophobicity with static contact angles increasing to 150 degree due to the small contacting area created by the nano-roughness of the forest structure. Secondary micro-roughness was further created by synthesizing SWNT nanotowers patterned with self-assembling nanosphere lithography. The regular spacing and the hemispherical shape of the nanotower heads, combined with the nano-roughness of the SWNT generate extremely small contacting areas between water and the SWNT nanotowers. As a result, it is demonstrated that SWNT nanotowers exhibit remarkable superhydrophobicity with contact angles near 180o. A water droplet dropped on this surface readily bounces off.