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Physics and Chemistry of Graphene: From Fundamentals to Applications

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A special issue of Nanomaterials (ISSN 2079-4991). This special issue belongs to the section "2D and Carbon Nanomaterials".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 May 2021) | Viewed by 24461

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Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Elena Sheka

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Guest Editor

Institute of Physical Research and Technologies, Peoples' Friendship University of Russia (RUDN University), 117198 Moscow, Russia
Interests: excitonics of molecular crystals; phonon spectra of molecular crystals (inelastic neutron scattering, calculation); exciton-phonon interaction and vibronic spectra of molecular crystals; phase transitions in molecular solids with liquid-crystal behavior (vibrational spectroscopy and neutron diffraction); vibrational spectroscopy of nanoparticles; quantum-chemical simulations; quantum fullerenics; simulations of carbon nanotubes; theoretical chemical physics of graphene; virtual vibrational spectroscopy of large molecules; digital twins concept in molecular science
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Dr. Tai-Feng Hung

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Guest Editor

Battery Research Center of Green Energy, Ming Chi University of Technology, New Taipei City, Taiwan
Interests: nanomaterials; energy storage technologies; metal-ion/air batteries; fuel cells; electrocatalysis; polymer composites
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Graphene’s nickname as a ‘miracle material’ is perfectly consonant with its superior properties. The real miracle of graphene is that the species is a union of two entities: chemical and physical, each of which is unique in its own way. The molecular–crystalline duality of graphene is a natural consequence of this feature. Graphene dualism ensures a further division of the body into per sci and high tech graphenes, the former of which is the object of fundamental studies, while the latter is the working material for plenty of attractive applications.

The present Special Issue on “Physics and Chemistry of Graphene: From Fundamentals to Applications” will highlight the forefront of research in this interdisciplinary area spanning physics, chemistry, biology, and geology of per sci graphene and commercial developments of per tech. The issue will cover a large set of topics including synthesis and structural studies of graphene crystals and molecules; chemistry and electrochemistry; electrical and optical properties; variety of spectroscopy; thermal, magnetic, and mechanical properties; theory and computational simulations; devices constructed from of graphene; energy applications; and biomedical and other applications.

Prof. Dr. Elena Sheka
Prof. Dr. Tai-Feng Hung
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Nanomaterials is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

graphene crystal
graphene molecules
experimental and virtual fundamentals of graphene
technological graphenics

Published Papers (7 papers)

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Research

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13 pages, 2183 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Noncured Graphene Thermal Interface Materials for High-Power Electronics: Minimizing the Thermal Contact Resistance

by Sriharsha Sudhindra, Fariborz Kargar and Alexander A. Balandin

Nanomaterials 2021, 11(7), 1699; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano11071699 - 28 Jun 2021

Cited by 20 | Viewed by 4295

Abstract

We report on experimental investigation of thermal contact resistance,

R_{C}

, of the noncuring graphene thermal interface materials with the surfaces characterized by different degree of roughness,

S_{q}

. It is found that the thermal contact resistance depends on the graphene [...] Read more.

We report on experimental investigation of thermal contact resistance,

R_{C}

, of the noncuring graphene thermal interface materials with the surfaces characterized by different degree of roughness,

S_{q}

. It is found that the thermal contact resistance depends on the graphene loading,

ξ

, non-monotonically, achieving its minimum at the loading fraction of

ξ ~ 15 wt %

. Decreasing the surface roughness by

S_{q} ~ 1 μ m

results in approximately the factor of ×2 decrease in the thermal contact resistance for this graphene loading. The obtained dependences of the thermal conductivity,

K_{T I M}

, thermal contact resistance,

R_{C}

, and the total thermal resistance of the thermal interface material layer on

ξ

and

S_{q}

can be utilized for optimization of the loading fraction of graphene for specific materials and roughness of the connecting surfaces. Our results are important for the thermal management of high-power-density electronics implemented with diamond and other wide-band-gap semiconductors. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Physics and Chemistry of Graphene: From Fundamentals to Applications)

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Figure 1

10 pages, 4780 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Lateral Structured Phototransistor Based on Mesoscopic Graphene/Perovskite Heterojunctions

by Dahua Zhou, Leyong Yu, Peng Zhu, Hongquan Zhao, Shuanglong Feng and Jun Shen

Nanomaterials 2021, 11(3), 641; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano11030641 - 05 Mar 2021

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2213

Abstract

Due to their outstanding optical properties and superior charge carrier mobilities, organometal halide perovskites have been widely investigated in photodetection and solar cell areas. In perovskites photodetection devices, their high optical absorption and excellent quantum efficiency contribute to the responsivity, even the specific detectivity. In this work, we developed a lateral phototransistor based on mesoscopic graphene/perovskite heterojunctions. Graphene nanowall shows a porous structure, and the spaces between graphene nanowall are much appropriated for perovskite crystalline to mount in. Hot carriers are excited in perovskite, which is followed by the holes’ transfer to the graphene layer through the interfacial efficiently. Therefore, graphene plays the role of holes’ collecting material and carriers’ transporting channel. This charge transfer process is also verified by the luminescence spectra. We used the hybrid film to build phototransistor, which performed a high responsivity and specific detectivity of 2.0 × 10³ A/W and 7.2 × 10¹⁰ Jones, respectively. To understand the photoconductive mechanism, the perovskite’s passivation and the graphene photogating effect are proposed to contribute to the device’s performance. This study provides new routes for the application of perovskite film in photodetection. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Physics and Chemistry of Graphene: From Fundamentals to Applications)

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Figure 1

9 pages, 1774 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Chemical Vapour Deposition of Graphene for Durable Anticorrosive Coating on Copper

by Dali Ji, Xinyue Wen, Tobias Foller, Yi You, Fei Wang and Rakesh Joshi

Nanomaterials 2020, 10(12), 2511; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano10122511 - 14 Dec 2020

Cited by 9 | Viewed by 3162

Abstract

Due to the excellent chemical inertness, graphene can be used as an anti-corrosive coating to protect metal surfaces. Here, we report the growth of graphene by using a chemical vapour deposition (CVD) process with ethanol as a carbon source. Surface and structural characterisations of CVD grown films suggest the formation of double-layer graphene. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy has been used to study the anticorrosion behaviour of the CVD grown graphene layer. The observed corrosion rate of 8.08 × 10⁻¹⁴ m/s for graphene-coated copper is 24 times lower than the value for pure copper which shows the potential of graphene as the anticorrosive layer. Furthermore, we observed no significant changes in anticorrosive behaviour of the graphene coated copper samples stored in ambient environment for more than one year. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Physics and Chemistry of Graphene: From Fundamentals to Applications)

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Figure 1

22 pages, 3862 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Graphene Domain Signature of Raman Spectra of sp² Amorphous Carbons

by Elena F. Sheka, Yevgeny A. Golubev and Nadezhda A. Popova

Nanomaterials 2020, 10(10), 2021; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano10102021 - 14 Oct 2020

Cited by 47 | Viewed by 3612

Abstract

The standard D-G-2D pattern of Raman spectra of sp² amorphous carbons is considered from the viewpoint of graphene domains presenting their basic structure units (BSUs) in terms of molecular spectroscopy. The molecular approximation allows connecting the characteristic D-G doublet spectra image of one-phonon spectra with a considerable dispersion of the C=C bond lengths within graphene domains, governed by size, heteroatom necklace of BSUs as well as BSUs packing. The interpretation of 2D two-phonon spectra reveals a particular role of electrical anharmonicity in the spectra formation and attributes this effect to a high degree of the electron density delocalization in graphene domains. A size-stimulated transition from molecular to quasi-particle phonon consideration of Raman spectra was experimentally traced, which allowed evaluation of a free path of optical phonons in graphene crystal. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Physics and Chemistry of Graphene: From Fundamentals to Applications)

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Graphical abstract

Review

Jump to: Research

30 pages, 10071 KiB

Open AccessReview

Raman and Fluorescence Enhancement Approaches in Graphene-Based Platforms for Optical Sensing and Imaging

by Sandra Cortijo-Campos, Rafael Ramírez-Jiménez and Alicia de Andrés

Nanomaterials 2021, 11(3), 644; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano11030644 - 05 Mar 2021

Cited by 9 | Viewed by 3159

Abstract

The search for novel platforms and metamaterials for the enhancement of optical and particularly Raman signals is still an objective since optical techniques offer affordable, noninvasive methods with high spatial resolution and penetration depth adequate to detect and image a large variety of systems, from 2D materials to molecules in complex media and tissues. Definitely, plasmonic materials produce the most efficient enhancement through the surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) process, allowing single-molecule detection, and are the most studied ones. Here we focus on less explored aspects of SERS such as the role of the inter-nanoparticle (NP) distance and the ultra-small NP size limit (down to a few nm) and on novel approaches involving graphene and graphene-related materials. The issues on reproducibility and homogeneity for the quantification of the probe molecules will also be discussed. Other light enhancement mechanisms, in particular resonant and interference Raman scatterings, as well as the platforms that allow combining several of them, are presented in this review with a special focus on the possibilities that graphene offers for the design and fabrication of novel architectures. Recent fluorescence enhancement platforms and strategies, so important for bio-detection and imaging, are reviewed as well as the relevance of graphene oxide and graphene/carbon nanodots in the field. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Physics and Chemistry of Graphene: From Fundamentals to Applications)

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Graphical abstract

37 pages, 4683 KiB

Open AccessReview

Plasma Assisted Reduction of Graphene Oxide Films

by Sri Hari Bharath Vinoth Kumar, Ruslan Muydinov and Bernd Szyszka

Nanomaterials 2021, 11(2), 382; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano11020382 - 03 Feb 2021

Cited by 12 | Viewed by 3432

Abstract

The past decade has seen enormous efforts in the investigation and development of reduced graphene oxide (GO) and its applications. Reduced graphene oxide (rGO) derived from GO is known to have relatively inferior electronic characteristics when compared to pristine graphene. Yet, it has its significance attributed to high-yield production from inexpensive graphite, ease of fabrication with solution processing, and thus a high potential for large-scale applications and commercialization. Amongst several available approaches for GO reduction, the mature use of plasma technologies is noteworthy. Plasma technologies credited with unique merits are well established in the field of nanotechnology and find applications across several fields. The use of plasma techniques for GO development could speed up the pathway to commercialization. In this report, we review the state-of-the-art status of plasma techniques used for the reduction of GO-films. The strength of various techniques is highlighted with a summary of the main findings in the literature. An analysis is included through the prism of chemistry and plasma physics. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Physics and Chemistry of Graphene: From Fundamentals to Applications)

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Figure 1

37 pages, 9385 KiB

Open AccessReview

Raman Spectroscopy Imaging of Exceptional Electronic Properties in Epitaxial Graphene Grown on SiC

by A. Ben Gouider Trabelsi, F. V. Kusmartsev, A. Kusmartseva, F. H. Alkallas, S. AlFaify and Mohd Shkir

Nanomaterials 2020, 10(11), 2234; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano10112234 - 11 Nov 2020

Cited by 13 | Viewed by 3392

Abstract

Graphene distinctive electronic and optical properties have sparked intense interest throughout the scientific community bringing innovation and progress to many sectors of academia and industry. Graphene manufacturing has rapidly evolved since its discovery in 2004. The diverse growth methods of graphene have many comparative advantages in terms of size, shape, quality and cost. Specifically, epitaxial graphene is thermally grown on a silicon carbide (SiC) substrate. This type of graphene is unique due to its coexistence with the SiC underneath which makes the process of transferring graphene layers for devices manufacturing simple and robust. Raman analysis is a sensitive technique extensively used to explore nanocarbon material properties. Indeed, this method has been widely used in graphene studies in fundamental research and application fields. We review the principal Raman scattering processes in SiC substrate and demonstrate epitaxial graphene growth. We have identified the Raman bands signature of graphene for different layers number. The method could be readily adopted to characterize structural and exceptional electrical properties for various epitaxial graphene systems. Particularly, the variation of the charge carrier concentration in epitaxial graphene of different shapes and layers number have been precisely imaged. By comparing the intensity ratio of 2D line and G line—“I_2D/I_G”—the density of charge across the graphene layers could be monitored. The obtained results were compared to previous electrical measurements. The substrate longitudinal optical phonon coupling “LOOPC” modes have also been examined for several epitaxial graphene layers. The LOOPC of the SiC substrate shows a precise map of the density of charge in epitaxial graphene systems for different graphene layers number. Correlations between the density of charge and particular graphene layer shape such as bubbles have been determined. All experimental probes show a high degree of consistency and efficiency. Our combined studies have revealed novel capacitor effect in diverse epitaxial graphene system. The SiC substrate self-compensates the graphene layer charge without any external doping. We have observed a new density of charge at the graphene—substrate interface. The located capacitor effects at epitaxial graphene-substrate interfaces give rise to an unexpected mini gap in graphene band structure. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Physics and Chemistry of Graphene: From Fundamentals to Applications)

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