Tunable D peak in gated graphene

We report the gate-modulated Raman spectrum of defective graphene. We show that the intensity of the D peak can be reversibly tuned by applying a gate voltage. This effect is attributed to chemical functionalization of the graphene crystal lattice, generated by an electrochemical reaction involving the water layer trapped at the interface between silicon and graphene.     

Fabrication of high-quality all-graphene devices with low contact resistances

All-graphene devices are new class of graphene devices with simple layouts and low contact resistances. Here we report a clean fabrication strategy for all-graphene devices via a defect-assisted anisotropic etching. The as-fabricated graphene is free of contamination and retains the quality of pristine graphene. The contact resistance at room temperature (RT) between a bilayer graphene channel and a multilayer graphene electrode can be as low as ～5 Ω·μm, the lowest ever achieved experimentally. Our results suggest the feasibility of employing such all-graphene devices in high performance carbon-based integrated circuits.      

Enhanced π-π interactions between a C60 fullerene and a buckle bend on a double-walled carbon nanotube

In situ low-voltage aberration corrected transmission electron microscopy (TEM) observations of the dynamic entrapment of a C₆₀ molecule in the saddle of a bent double-walled carbon nanotube is presented. The fullerene interaction is non-covalent, suggesting that enhanced π-π interactions (van der Waals forces) are responsible. Classical molecular dynamics calculations confirm that the increased interaction area associated with a buckle is sufficient to trap a fullerene. Moreover, they show hopping behavior in agreement with our experimental observations. Our findings further our understanding of carbon nanostructure interactions, which are important in the rapidly developing field of low-voltage aberration corrected TEM and nano-carbon device fabrication.      

Studies of graphene-based nanoelectromechanical switches

Electromechanical switch devices employing suspended graphene as movable elements have been developed. Their on and off states can be controlled by modulating the electrostatic force applied to the graphene. The devices exhibit on-off ratios of up to 10⁴ and lifetimes of over 500 cycles. The prototype device demonstrates the feasibility of using multilayer graphene in electromechanical systems. Measurements of the mechanical properties of the free-standing monolayer graphene gave a value of 0.96 TPa for the Young??s modulus and a van der Waals force with silicon oxide of 0.17 nN/nm².      

Selective suspension of single layer graphene mechanochemically exfoliated from carbon nanofibres

This paper presents the first report of the successful ball-milling exfoliation of graphitic filaments （GANF~ carbon nanofibres） into single layer graphene. The addition of small amounts of solvent during the milling process makes it possible to enhance the intercalation of the exfoliating agent （melamine） between the graphene layers, thus promoting exceptional exfoliation. Advantage has also been taken of the fact that the Hansen solubility parameters of graphene are different from those of carbon fibres, which allows single and few-layer graphene to be suspended in a particular solvent, thus discriminating them from poorly exfoliated carbon nanofibres.     

Anomalous moire pattern of graphene investigated by scanning tunneling microscopy： Evidence of graphene growth on oxidized Cu（111）

The growth of graphene on oriented （111） copper films has been achieved by atmospheric pressure chemical vapor deposition. The structural properties of as-produced graphene have been investigated by scanning tunneling microscopy. Anomalous moir6 superstructures composed of well-defined linear periodic modulations have been observed. We report here on comprehensive and detailed studies of these particular moir6 patterns present in the graphene topography revealing that, in certain conditions, the growth can occur on the oxygen-induced reconstructed copper surface and not directly on the oriented （111） copper film as expected.     

Electron-electron interactions in monolayer graphene quantum capacitors

We demonstrate the effects of electron-electron （e-e） interactions in monolayer graphene quantum capacitors. Ultrathin yttrium oxide showed excellent per-formance as the dielectric layer in top-gate device geometry. The structure and dielectric constant of the yttrium oxide layers have been carefully studied. The inverse compressibility retrieved from the quantum capacitance agreed fairly well with the theoretical predictions for the e--e interactions in monolayer graphene at different temperatures. We found that electron-hole puddles played a significant role in the low-density carrier region in graphene. By considering the temperature-dependent charge fluctuation, we established a model to explain the round-off effect originating from the e-e interactions in monolayer graphene near the Dirac point.     

Negative supracrystals inducing a FCC-BCC transition in gold nanocrystal superlattices

The growth of nanocrystal superlattices of 5 nm single domain Au nanocrystals at an air-toluene interface induces formation of well-defined thin films （300--400 nm） with large coherence lengths. High-resolution electron microscopy showed that polyhedral holes （negative supracrystal） were formed on the nanocrystal superlattice surface. Formation of negative supracrystals is attributed to inclusion in the superlattice of organic molecules （dodecanethiol）, which are present in concentrated zones at the air-toluene interface. The coexistence of two supracrystalline structures （bcc/fcc） is attributed to diffusion of dodecanethiol molecules resulting in a Bain deformation of the nanocrystal array.     

A graphene-based surface plasmon sensor

We present the application of graphene as a plasmon sensor. It was found that the electronic transport of chemical vapor deposition CVD-synthesized graphene is sensitive to surface plasmons generated by the illumination of metal nanoparticles. The observed change in electronic conduction can be up to seven times larger than the intrinsic photoresponse of graphene. A study of the mechanism revealed local field-assisted oxygen desorption induced by surface plasmons to be the cause of this intriguing behavior. A detailed investigation of the wavelength and spacing dependence of the plasmon-graphene coupling proves that graphene can be used as a sensitive, high resolution electronic plasmon detector. This finding shows the potential of devices exploiting the novel properties of graphene and surface plasmons.      

Enzyme-directed pH-responsive exfoliation and dispersion of graphene and its decoration by gold nanoparticles for use as a hybrid catalyst

A non-destructive, safe and practical strategy to produce high quality graphene in high yield is urgently required, since this would pave the way for a wide range of applications of graphene in the future. Here we present a pH-responsive water-dispersible method for the exfoliation and functionalization of graphene by using lysozyme. The pH-responsive dispersion of graphene may be useful for the reversible assembly of multicomponent/multifunctional nanohybrid materials and nanoscale electronic devices. More importantly, composites can be easily constructed through the interactions between disulphide groups in lysozyme and gold nanoparticles （AuNPs）. The resulting graphene-AuNPs composites show excellent catalytic activity towards reduction of o-nitroaniline by NaBH4. Since lysozyme is low cost and has antibacterial properties, and has been widely used in food preservation, medicine and the pharmaceutical industry, our approach may open a new scalable route for the manufacture of high-quality, nondestructive graphene for practical applications.     

Microwave synthesis of large few-layer graphene sheets in aqueous solution of ammonia

Few-layer graphene (FLG) sheets with sizes exceeding several micrometers have been synthesized by exfoliation of expanded graphite in aqueous solution of ammonia under microwave irradiation, with an overall yield approaching 8 wt.%. Transmission electron microscopy (in bright-field and dark-field modes) together with electron diffraction patterns and atomic force microscopy confirmed that this graphene material consisted mostly of mono-, bi- or few-layer graphene (less than ten layers). The high degree of surface reduction was confirmed by X-ray photoelectron and infrared spectroscopies. In addition, the high stability of the FLG in the liquid medium facilitates the deposition of the graphene material onto several substrates via low-cost solution-phase processing techniques, opening the way to subsequent applications of the material.      

Graphene-CdSe nanobelt solar cells with tunable configurations

We have combined two planar nanostructures, graphene and CdSe nanobelts, to construct Schottky junction solar cells with open-circuit voltages of about 0.5 V and cell efficiencies on the order of 0.1%. By covering transparent graphene or carbon nanotube (CNT) films on selected positions along macroscopically long CdSe nanobelts, we have demonstrated the fabrication of active solar cells with many different configurations and parallel connections from individual or multiple assembled nanobelts. The graphene-CdSe nanobelt solar cells reported here show a great flexibility in creating diverse device architectures, and might be scaled up for cell integration based on assembled nanobelt arrays and patterned graphene (or CNT) films.      

Solution-processable graphene mesh transparent electrodes for organic solar cells

Graphene mesh electrodes (GMEs) with good conductivity and transparency have been fabricated by the standard industrial photolithography and O₂ plasma etching process using graphene solutions. Organic photovoltaic (OPV) cells using GMEs as the transparent electrodes with a blend of poly-(3-hexylthiophene)/phenyl-C₆₁-butyric acid methyl ester (P3HT/PC₆₁BM) as the active layer have been fabricated and exhibit a power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 2.04%, the highest PCE for solution-processed graphene transparent electrode-based solar cells reported to date.      

Nitrogen-doped graphene supported Pd@PdO core-shell clusters for C-C coupling reactions

The introduction of nitrogen significantly decreases the metal particle size and improves the performance of metal-based graphene-supported catalysts. In this work, the density functional theory is used to understand the interaction between nitrogen-doped graphene and Pd@PdO clusters. Experiments show that small size Pd@PdO clusters （1-2 nm） can be grown uniformly on nitrogen-doped graphene sheets by a facile oxidation-reduction method. The nanoscale interaction relationship between nitrogen-doped graphene and Pd@PdO clusters is investigated through X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy （XPS） and X-ray absorption spectra （XAS）. The composite catalysts are applied in Suzuki-Miyaura reactions giving high yields and good structural stability. These results have potential impact in design and optimization of future high performance catalyst materials for cross coupling reactions.     

Facile preparation of Carbon nanotubes and graphene sheets by a catalyst-free refluxing approach

A facile catalyst-free one-step approach for the preparation of carbon nanotubes and graphene sheets at ambient pressure and ?? 230 °C has been developed. Carbon nanotubes and graphene sheets are prepared by reducing tetrachloroethylene with sodium in paraffin oil under reflux. The as-prepared products can be easily purified just by washing with common solvents. No metallic contaminants or other impurities exist in the products. The products show unique optical properties and may find various applications such as optical light attenuators and catalyst supports. This high yield and economical process presents a possible strategy for the large-scale production of carbon nanotubes and graphene sheets for future applications.      

Light-controlled synthesis of uniform platinum nanodendrites with markedly enhanced electrocatalytic activity

We report a fast in situ seeding approach based on zinc（II） porphyrin （ZnP） under white light irradiation, leading to uniform spherical platinum nanodendrites with tunable sizes. The platinum nanodendrites exhibit significantly improved electrocatalytic activities toward oxygen reduction reaction （ORR） and methanol oxidation reaction （MOR） compared with commercial platinum black.     

Terahertz graphene optics

The magnitude of the optical sheet conductance of single-layer graphene is universal, and equal to e ²/4? (where 2??? = h (the Planck constant)). As the optical frequency decreases, the conductivity decreases. However, at some frequency in the THz range, the conductivity increases again, eventually reaching the DC value, where the magnitude of the DC sheet conductance generally displays a sample- and doping-dependent value between ??e ²/h and 100 e ²/h. Thus, the THz range is predicted to be a non-trivial region of the spectrum for electron transport in graphene, and may have interesting technological applications. In this paper, we present the first frequency domain measurements of the absolute value of multilayer graphene (MLG) and single-layer graphene (SLG) sheet conductivity and transparency from DC to 1 THz, and establish a firm foundation for future THz applications of graphene.      

Highly defective graphene: A key prototype of two-dimensional Anderson insulators

Electronic structure and transport properties of highly defective two-dimensional (2D) sp² graphene are investigated theoretically. Classical molecular dynamics are used to generate large graphene planes containing a considerable amount of defects. Then, a tight-binding Hamiltonian validated by ab initio calculations is constructed in order to compute quantum transport within a real-space order-N Kubo-Greenwood approach. In contrast to pristine graphene, the highly defective sp² carbon sheets exhibit a high density of states at the charge neutrality point raising challenging questions concerning the electronic transport of associated charge carriers. The analysis of the electronic wavepacket dynamics actually reveals extremely strong multiple scattering effects giving rise to mean free paths as low as 1 nm and localization phenomena. Consequently, highly defective graphene is envisioned as a remarkable prototype of 2D Anderson insulating materials.      

Weak mismatch epitaxy and structural Feedback in graphene growth on copper foil

Graphene growth by low-pressure chemical vapor deposition on low cost copper foils shows great promise for large scale applications. It is known that the local crystallography of the foil influences the graphene growth rate. Here we find an epitaxial relationship between graphene and copper foil. Interfacial restructuring between graphene and copper drives the formation of (n10) facets on what is otherwise a mostly Cu(100) surface, and the facets in turn influence the graphene orientations from the onset of growth. Angle resolved photoemission shows that the electronic structure of the graphene is decoupled from the copper indicating a weak interaction between them. Despite this, two preferred orientations of graphene are found, ±8° from the Cu[010] direction, creating a non-uniform distribution of graphene grain boundary misorientation angles. Comparison with the model system of graphene growth on single crystal Cu(110) indicates that this orientational alignment is due to mismatch epitaxy. Despite the differences in symmetry the orientation of the graphene is defined by that of the copper. We expect these observations to not only have importance for controlling and understanding the growth process for graphene on copper, but also to have wider implications for the growth of two-dimensional materials on low cost metal substrates.      

Formation and optical properties of ZnO:ZnFe2O4 superlattice microwires

Pure ZnO hexagonal microwires and Fe(III)-doped ZnO microwires (MWs) with a novel rectangular cross section were synthesized in a confined chamber by a convenient one-step thermal evaporation method. An oriented attachment mechanism is consistent with a vapor-solid growth process. Photoluminescence (PL) and Raman spectroscopy of the Fe(III)-doped ZnO MWs and in situ spectral mappings indicate a quasi-periodic distribution of Fe(III) along a one-dimensional (1-D) superlattice ZnO:ZnFe₂O₄ wire, while PL mapping shows the presence of optical multicavities and related multimodes. The PL spectra at room temperature show weak near-edge doublets (376 nm and 383 nm) and a broad band (450–650 nm) composed of strong discrete lines, due to a 1-D photonic crystal structure. Such a 1-D coupled optical cavity material may find many applications in future photonic and spintronic devices.