Graphene wettability: Fundamentals, modulations, and applications in energy fields

Over the last decade, there has been a remarkable surge in the development of graphene-based energy gener-ation, storage, transduction, and harvesting devices, driven by the exceptional electronic, optical, thermal, chemical, and mechanical properties of graphene. Notably, the tunable wettability of graphene offers an intriguing opportunity to enhance the performance of energy systems that utilize or involve water during device fabrication and usage stages, such as solar cells, nanogenerators, and supercapacitors. In this review, we provide an extensive overview of the latest research progress in the intrinsic wettability of graphene and its influencing factors, including substrate, contamination, defects, doping, and layer number. Subsequently, we highlight the representative applications in water-involved energy fields of high-quality graphene films synthesized via chemical vapor deposition. Lastly, we discuss current challenges in adopting graphene in the energy fields and propose future directions to promote the adoption of graphene in water-involved energy devices. Overall, this review presents critical insights into the significance of graphene wettability in advancing both the fundamental research and practical applications of graphene in energy fields.