Wetting transparency of graphene in water

Measurements of contact angle on graphene sheets show a notable dependence on the nature of the underlying substrate, a phenomenon termed wetting transparency. Our molecular modeling studies reveal analogous transparency in case of submerged graphene fragments in water. A combined effect of attractive dispersion forces, angle correlations between aqueous dipoles, and repulsion due to the hydrogen-bond-induced orientation bias in polarized hydration layers acting across graphene sheet, enhances apparent adhesion of water to graphene. We show wetting free energy of a fully wetted graphene platelet to be about 8 mNm(-1) lower than for graphene wetted only on one side, which gives close to 10° reduction in contact angle. This difference has potential implications for predictions of water absorption vs. desorption, phase behavior of water in aqueous nanoconfinements, solvent-induced interactions among graphitic nanoparticle and concomitant stability in aqueous dispersions, and can influence permeability of porous materials such as carbon nanotubes by water and aqueous solutions.