Affinity transformation from hydrophilicity to hydrophobicity of water molecules on the basis of adsorption of water in graphitic nanopores.

Abstract

The interaction of water with hydrophobic surfaces is quite important in a variety of chemical and biochemical phenomena. The coexistence of water and oil can be realized by introduction of surfactants. In the case of water vapor adsorption on graphitic nanopores, plenty of water can be adsorbed in graphitic nanopores without surfactants, although the graphitic surface is not hydrophilic. Why are water molecules adsorbed in hydrophobic nanopores remarkably? This work can give an explicit insight to water adsorption in hydrophobic graphite nanopores using experimental and theoretical approaches. Water molecules are associated with each other to form the cluster of 1 nm in size, leading to a significant stabilization of the cluster in the graphitic nanopores. This mechanism can be widely applied to interfacial phenomena relating to coexistence of water and nanostructural materials of hydrophobicity.