Toward Two-Dimensional All-Carbon Heterostructures via Ion Beam Patterning of Single-Layer Graphene

Abstract

Graphene has many claims to fame: it is the thinnest possible membrane, it has unique electronic and excellent mechanical properties, and it provides the perfect model structure for studying materials science at the atomic level. However, for many practical studies and applications the ordered hexagon arrangement of carbon atoms in graphene is not directly suitable. Here, we show that the atoms can be locally either removed or rearranged into a random pattern of polygons using a focused ion beam (FIB). The atomic structure of the disordered regions is confirmed with atomic-resolution scanning transmission electron microscopy images. These structural modifications can be made on macroscopic scales with a spatial resolution determined only by the size of the ion beam. With just one processing step, three types of structures can be defined within a graphene layer: chemically inert graphene, chemically active amorphous 2D carbon, and empty areas. This, along with the changes in properties, gives promise that FIB patterning of graphene will open the way for creating all-carbon heterostructures to be used in fields ranging from nanoelectronics and chemical sensing to composite materials.

Metamorphosis in carbon network: From penta-graphene to biphenylene under uniaxial tension

“…Enabled by the versatile nature of carbon bonding, a rapidly growing number of experimentally isolated and theoretically predicted carbon allotropes are proposed as nano-materials suitable for interesting and unique applications. Graphene, [1] phagraphene, [2] penta-graphene, [3] amorphized graphene, [4,5] graphenylene [6][7][8] and…”

Anisotropic thermal conductivity and mechanical properties of phagraphene: a molecular dynamics study

“…Graphene remains the most stable planar form of carbon with honeycomb atomic arrangement. Nonetheless, some of these novel carbon-based materials have already been produced, such as nitrogenated holey graphene 5 and amorphized graphene heterostructures 6 , while some have only been theoretically proposed, such as the carbon allotropes penta-graphene 7 and phagraphene 8 . Phagraphene is a new planar carbon allotrope composed of 5-6-7 carbon rings 8 .…”

Ultrafast electronic response of graphene to a strong and localized electric field

“…Photoexcitation measurements reveal efficient excited carrier relaxation within a few hundred femtoseconds1112 yet probe the lattice on the length scale of the optical wavelength. Moreover, large electric fields1314 and collisions with energetic particles1516171819202122232425262728, which allow for tuning the properties of graphene, further modify the response of the material. A reliable tool to locally probe the timescales of the electronic response of pristine graphene to large fields is thus urgently needed.…”