Highly Selective Gas Sensors Based on Graphene Nanoribbons Grown by Chemical Vapor Deposition

Abstract

Despite the recent advances in bottom-up synthesis of different kinds of atomically precise graphene nanoribbons (GNRs) with very diverse physical properties, the translation of these GNRs into electronic devices remains challenging. Among other factors, the electronic characterization of GNRs is hampered by their complex synthesis that often requires custom-made organic precursors and the need for their transfer to dielectric substrates compatible with the conventional device fabrication procedures. In this paper, we demonstrate that uniform electrically conductive GNR films can be grown on arbitrary high-temperature-resistant substrates, such as metals, Si/SiO2, or silica glasses, by a simple chemical vapor deposition (CVD) approach based on thermal decomposition of commercially available perylenetetracarboxylic dianhydride molecules. The results of spectroscopic and microscopic characterization of the CVD-grown films were consistent with the formation of oxygen-terminated N = 5 armchair GNRs. The CVD-grown nanoribbon films exhibited an ambipolar electric field effect and low on–off ratios, which were in agreement with the predicted metallic properties of N = 5 armchair GNRs, and remarkable gas sensing properties to a variety of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). We fabricated a GNR-based electronic nose system that could reliably recognize VOCs from different chemical classes including alcohols (methanol, ethanol, and isopropanol) and amines (n-butylamine, diethylamine, and triethylamine). The simplicity of the described CVD approach and its compatibility with the conventional device fabrication procedures, as well as the demonstrated sensitivity of the GNR devices to a variety of VOCs, warrant further investigation of CVD-grown nanoribbons for sensing applications.

Graphene Nanoribbons: Prospects of Application in Biomedicine and Toxicity

“…Being almost ideal nanowires or nanotags, GNRs are an extremely accurate tool, promising for nanoelectronic components, ultrasensitive chemical and mechanical sensors, etc. [5][6][7][8][9][10].…”

Chemical Gas Sensors: Recent Developments, Challenges, and the Potential of Machine Learning—A Review

“…To reduce the power consumption and to develop an economical setup, researchers fabricated and reported single-sensors based on selective material synthesized through earlier mentioned techniques [124,129]. These sensors generate distinct dynamic responses against different gases, and hence one sensor can be used for the identification of various gases.…”

“…Therefore, it can be estimated that CWT and FFT are vital and contain much of the useful information for unique pattern generation [135]. Shekhar et al [129] reported a CVDgrown graphene nanoribbon e-nose system consisting of 38 sensors for VOC detection. The schematic diagram, output response, and LDA accuracy graphs towards different VOCs are shown in Figure 16A.…”

“…Therefore, amines and alcohol response datasets were used for model training. The response curves of various amines and alcohols were collected and normalized using Equations ( 7) and ( 8) [129] for their implementation as a feature vector to train an LDA model.…”

Structure–Function Relationships of Nanocarbon/Polymer Composites for Chemiresistive Sensing: A Review

“…The width, edge structure, and functionalization of GNRs make it a promising candidate for electronic devices and biomedical applications [ 18 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 ]. The tunable physical and electronic properties of GNRs hold promising potential for the fabrication of gas sensors [ 33 ] due to the high conductivity, resistance to electro-migration due to the strong inherent carbon–carbon bonds, extraordinary mechanical strength, and large current conduction capacity [ 26 , 33 , 34 ]. The addition of GNRs into a polymer matrix can also modify the electrical, thermal, and mechanical properties of the polymer matrix due to the interfacial properties of final nanocomposite and compatibility of this nanofiller with polymer [ 28 , 35 ].…”