Materials with appropriate surface roughness and low surface energy can form superhy-drophobic surfaces, displaying water contact angles greater than 150°. Superhydrophobic carbon-based materials are particularly interesting due to their exceptional physicochemical properties. This review discusses the various techniques used to produce superhydrophobic carbon-based materials such as carbon fibers,carbon nanotubes, graphene, amorphous car-bons, etc. Recent advances in emerging fieldssuch as energy, environmental remediation, and thermal management in relation to these materials are also discussed.
In this work, we synthesized superhydrophobic coatings by chemical surface functionalization of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs). This was accomplished through the radical polymerization of 3-(trimethoxysilyl) propyl methacrylate modified MWCNTs and fluoro acrylate/methyl methacrylate. The chemical compositions and microstructures of the prepared MWCNT surface were investigated using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectrometry, and scanning electron microscopy, respectively. The wettability of the MWCNTs surface was determined through contact angle assessments in different liquids. The resulting surface exhibited a water contact angle of 157.7˚, which is clear evidence of its superhydrophobicity. The 3D MWCNT networks and the low surface energy of the -C-C- and -C-F- groups play important roles in creating the superhydrophobic surface of the MWCNTs.