Bioinspired Fabrication of Superhydrophobic Graphene Films by Two-Beam Laser Interference

Reported here is a bioinspired fabrication of superhydrophobic graphene surfaces by means of two-beam laser interference (TBLI) treatment of graphene oxide (GO) films. Microscale grating-like structures with tunable periods and additional nanoscale roughness are readily created on graphene films due to laser induced ablation effect. Synchronously, abundant hydrophilic oxygen-containing groups (OCGs) on GO sheets can be drastically removed after TBLI treatment, which lower its surface energy significantly. The synergistic effect of micro-nanostructuring and the OCGs removal endows the resultant graphene films with unique superhydrophobicity. Additionally, dual TBLI treatment with 90° rotation is implemented to fabricate superhydrophobic graphene films with two-dimensional grating-like structures that can effectively avoid the anisotropic hydrophobicity originated from the grooved structures. Moreover, the superhydrophobic graphene films become conductive due to the laser reduction effect. Unique optical characteristics including transmission diffraction and brilliant structural color are also observed due to the presence of periodic microstructures. As a mask-free, chemical-free, and cost-effective method, the TBLI processing of GO may open up a new way to biomimetic graphene surfaces, and thus hold great promise for the development of novel graphene-based microdevices.