Adsorption of Water on Two-Dimensional Crystals: Water/Graphene and Water/Silicatene

• Main Author: Uwe Burghaus
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2016-04-01
• Series: Inorganics
• Subjects: graphene; silicatene; water; surfaces; kinetics; dynamics; 2D crystals; wetting; hydrophobic; hydrophilic
• Online Access: http://www.mdpi.com/2304-6740/4/2/10

The adsorption of water on solid surfaces is a scientific evergreen which again recently prompted considerable attention in the materials, nano-, and surface science communities, respectively, due to conflicting evidence presented in the most highly regarded scientific journals. This mini review is a brief and personal perspective of the current literature (and our own data) about water adsorption for two examples, namely graphene and silicatene, which are both two-dimensional (2D) crystals. Silicatene, an inorganic companion of graphene, is intriguing as it presents us with the possibility to synthesize a 2D analog to zeolites by doping this crystalline silicon film. The wettability by water and whether or not support effects of epitaxial 2D crystals are present is of concern. Regarding applications: some 2D crystals appear promising for the hydrogen evolution reaction, i.e., hydrogen generation from water; a functionalization of graphene (by oxygen/water) to graphene oxide may be interesting for metal-free catalysis; the latest highlight in this field appears to be “icephobicity”, an application related to the hydrophobicity of surfaces.