Nano-Architecture of nitrogen-doped graphene films synthesized from a solid CN source

New synthesis routes to tailor graphene properties by controlling the concentration and chemical configuration of dopants show great promise. Herein we report the direct reproducible synthesis of 2-3% nitrogen-doped ‘few-layer’ graphene from a solid state nitrogen carbide a-C:N source synthesized by femtosecond pulsed laser ablation. Analytical investigations, including synchrotron facilities, made it possible to identify the configuration and chemistry of the nitrogen-doped graphene films. Auger mapping successfully quantified the 2D distribution of the number of graphene layers over the surface, and hence offers a new original way to probe the architecture of graphene sheets. The films mainly consist in a Bernal ABA stacking three-layer architecture, with a layer number distribution ranging from 2 to 6. Nitrogen doping affects the charge carrier distribution but has no significant effects on the number of lattice defects or disorders, compared to undoped graphene synthetized in similar conditions. Pyridinic, quaternary and pyrrolic nitrogen are the dominant chemical configurations, pyridinic N being preponderant at the scale of the film architecture. This work opens highly promising perspectives for the development of self-organized nitrogen-doped graphene materials, as synthetized from solid carbon nitride, with various functionalities, and for the characterization of 2D materials using a significant new methodology

Synthesis of Large Area Graphene by Solid Carbon Source

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Large scale catalytic growth of grapheme on nickel for transparent conductive electrodes

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Synthesis of Large Area Graphene by Solid Carbon Source

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Fabrication of quantum dots sensitized ZnO nanowires for extremely thin solar cells

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Nanomechanical mapping of graphene layers and interfaces in suspended graphene nanostructures grown via carbon diffusion

Graphene’s remarkable mechanical, electronic and thermal properties are strongly determined by both the mechanism of its growth and its interaction with the underlying substrate. Evidently, in order to explore the fundamentals of these mechanisms, efficient nanoscale methods are needed that enable observation of features hidden underneath the immediate surface. In this paper we use nanomechanical mapping via ultrasonic force microscopy that employs MHz frequency range ultrasonic vibrations and allows the observation of surface composition and subsurface interfaces with nanoscale resolution, to elucidate the morphology of few layer graphene (FLG) films produced via a recently reported method of carbon diffusion growth (CDG) on platinum-metal based substrate. CDG is known to result in FLG suspended over large areas, which could be of high importance for graphene transfer and applications where a standalone graphene film is required. This study directly reveals the detailed mechanism of CDG three-dimensional growth and FLG film detachment, directly linking the level of graphene decoupling with variations of the substrate temperature during the annealing phase of growth. We also show that graphene initially preferentially decouples at the substrate grain boundaries, likely due to its negative expansion coefficient at cooling, forming characteristic “nano-domes” at the intersections of the grain boundaries. Furthermore, quantitative nanomechanical mapping of flexural stiffness of suspended FLG “nano-domes” using kHz frequency range force modulation microscopy, uncovers the progression of “nano-domes” stiffness from single to bi-modal distribution as CDG growth progresses, suggesting growth instability at advanced CDG stages

ZnO Nanowire arrays sensitization with different absorber materials for fabrication of nanostructured solar cells

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Graphene electrodes for resistance switching in HfO2 based ReRAM

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Graphene electrodes for HfO2 based resistance switching memory

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