Graphene Coated Nanoprobes: A Review

Hui, Fei; Chen, Shaochuan; Liang, Xiaobo; Xu, Jun; Shi, Yuanyuan; Lanza, Mario

doi:10.3390/cryst7090269

Cited by 17 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 51 publications

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“…The contact between the GMS and the crystalline substrate was found to be multiasperity contact of the polycrystalline graphene coating. Similarly, a series of methods have been proposed to coat graphene onto the atomic force microscopy (AFM) tip . However, it is very difficult to achieve a well-defined contact interface ( e .…”

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confidence: 99%

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Interlayer Friction and Superlubricity in Single-Crystalline Contact Enabled by Two-Dimensional Flake-Wrapped Atomic Force Microscope Tips

et al. 2018

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Interlayer friction between the atomic planes of 2D materials and heterostructures is a promising probe of the physics in their interlayer couplings and superlubricity. However, it is still challenging to measure the interlayer friction between well-defined 2D layers. We propose an approach of thermally assisted mechanical exfoliation and transfer to fabricate various 2D flake-wrapped atomic force microscopy (AFM) tips and to directly measure the interlayer friction between 2D flakes in single-crystalline contact. First, superlubricity between different 2D flakes and layered bulk materials is achieved with a friction coefficient as low as 10. The rotation angle dependence of superlubricity is observed for friction between graphite layers, whereas it is not observed between graphite and h-BN because of the incommensurate contact of the mismatched lattices. Second, the interlayer lateral force map between ReS layers is measured with atomic resolution, showing hexagonal patterns, as further verified by theoretical simulations. The tribological system constructed here offers an experimental platform to study interlayer couplings and friction between 2D flakes and layered bulk materials.

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confidence: 99%

“…Similarly, a series of methods have been proposed to coat graphene onto the atomic force microscopy (AFM) tip. 31 However, it is very difficult to achieve a well-defined contact interface (e.g., single-crystalline contact and defect-free) between 2D materials to measure the intrinsic interlayer friction.…”

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confidence: 99%

Interlayer Friction and Superlubricity in Single-Crystalline Contact Enabled by Two-Dimensional Flake-Wrapped Atomic Force Microscope Tips

et al. 2018

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“…New studies have developed prototypes of nanoprobes that are coated with different materials. For instance, Dai et al [99] have developed a conventional scanning probe microscope (SPM) probe tips by adding multi-walled carbon nanotubes (with 1 µm and 5-20 nm diameter) to their apex using manual manipulation and optical microscope epoxy [100]. Many works [101][102][103][104][105][106] have shown that graphene can be a suitable coating material to extend the lifespan of a conductive nanoprobe.…”

Section: Cantilever-tip Systemsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Its mass is minuscule compared to hard coatings like diamond that have a substantial mass. Graphene may also be used to functionalize the probe's surface with piezoelectricity and hydrophobicity properties [100].…”

Section: Cantilever-tip Systemsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Recent Applications of Advanced Atomic Force Microscopy in Polymer Science: A Review

et al. 2020

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Atomic force microscopy (AFM) has been extensively used for the nanoscale characterization of polymeric materials. The coupling of AFM with infrared spectroscope (AFM-IR) provides another advantage to the chemical analyses and thus helps to shed light upon the study of polymers. This paper reviews some recent progress in the application of AFM and AFM-IR in polymer science. We describe the principle of AFM-IR and the recent improvements to enhance its resolution. We also discuss the latest progress in the use of AFM-IR as a super-resolution correlated scanned-probe infrared spectroscopy for the chemical characterization of polymer materials dealing with polymer composites, polymer blends, multilayers, and biopolymers. To highlight the advantages of AFM-IR, we report several results in studying the crystallization of both miscible and immiscible blends as well as polymer aging. Finally, we demonstrate how this novel technique can be used to determine phase separation, spherulitic structure, and crystallization mechanisms at nanoscales, which has never been achieved before. The review also discusses future trends in the use of AFM-IR in polymer materials, especially in polymer thin film investigation.

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“…Manufacturers of solid highly-doped diamond tips claimed sub-nanometer lateral resolution [6], but these tips are so stiff that they can easily damage almost every sample. Another possibility is to use metal-coated Si tips protected with a thin layer of graphene (which does not increase R TIP ), but this solution is still in an experimental stage [7,8,9]. Therefore, understanding the degradation process of the metallic coating of the CAFM tips is essential.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Understanding Current Instabilities in Conductive Atomic Force Microscopy

et al. 2019

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Conductive atomic force microscopy (CAFM) is one of the most powerful techniques in studying the electrical properties of various materials at the nanoscale. However, understanding current fluctuations within one study (due to degradation of the probe tips) and from one study to another (due to the use of probe tips with different characteristics), are still two major problems that may drive CAFM researchers to extract wrong conclusions. In this manuscript, these two issues are statistically analyzed by collecting experimental CAFM data and processing them using two different computational models. Our study indicates that: (i) before their complete degradation, CAFM tips show a stable state with degraded conductance, which is difficult to detect and it requires CAFM tip conductivity characterization before and after the CAFM experiments; and (ii) CAFM tips with low spring constants may unavoidably lead to the presence of a ~1.2 nm thick water film at the tip/sample junction, even if the maximum contact force allowed by the setup is applied. These two phenomena can easily drive CAFM users to overestimate the properties of the samples under test (e.g., oxide thickness). Our study can help researchers to better understand the current shifts that were observed during their CAFM experiments, as well as which probe tip to use and how it degrades. Ultimately, this work may contribute to enhancing the reliability of CAFM investigations.

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Graphene Coated Nanoprobes: A Review

Cited by 17 publications

References 51 publications

Interlayer Friction and Superlubricity in Single-Crystalline Contact Enabled by Two-Dimensional Flake-Wrapped Atomic Force Microscope Tips

Interlayer Friction and Superlubricity in Single-Crystalline Contact Enabled by Two-Dimensional Flake-Wrapped Atomic Force Microscope Tips

Recent Applications of Advanced Atomic Force Microscopy in Polymer Science: A Review

Understanding Current Instabilities in Conductive Atomic Force Microscopy

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