Reversible Hydrophobic to Hydrophilic Transition in Graphene via Water Splitting Induced by UV Irradiation

Although the reversible wettability transition between hydrophobic and hydrophilic graphene under ultraviolet (UV) irradiation has been observed, the mechanism for this phenomenon remains unclear. In this work, experimental and theoretical investigations demonstrate that the H 2 O molecules are spli...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inScientific reports Vol. 4; no. 1; p. 6450
Main Authors Xu, Zhemi, Ao, Zhimin, Chu, Dewei, Younis, Adnan, Li, Chang Ming, Li, Sean
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published London Nature Publishing Group UK 23.09.2014
Nature Publishing Group
Subjects
119/118
140/133
639/301/357/918
639/766/119/544
Adsorption
Free radicals
Humanities and Social Sciences
Hydrophobicity
Hydroxyl radicals
multidisciplinary
Science
Splitting
Ultraviolet radiation
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Summary:Although the reversible wettability transition between hydrophobic and hydrophilic graphene under ultraviolet (UV) irradiation has been observed, the mechanism for this phenomenon remains unclear. In this work, experimental and theoretical investigations demonstrate that the H 2 O molecules are split into hydrogen and hydroxyl radicals, which are then captured by the graphene surface through chemical binding in an ambient environment under UV irradiation. The dissociative adsorption of H 2 O molecules induces the wettability transition in graphene from hydrophobic to hydrophilic. Our discovery may hold promise for the potential application of graphene in water splitting.
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ISSN:2045-2322
2045-2322
DOI:10.1038/srep06450