Solvothermal synthesis of superhydrophobic hollow carbon nanoparticles from a fluorinated alcohol

A new and simple method of synthesizing fluorinated carbon at the gram scale is presented by reacting a fluorinated alcohol with sodium at elevated temperatures in a sealed Teflon reactor. The resulting carbon nanoparticles are around 100 nm in diameter, and display a hollow shell morphology, with a significant amount of fluorine doped into the carbon. The nanoparticles disperse easily in ethanol, and are thermally stable up to 400 degrees C and 450 degrees C under air and nitrogen, respectively. The nanoparticle dispersion was printed onto various substrates (paper, cloth, silicon), inducing superhydrophobicity.