Laterally extended atomically precise graphene nanoribbons with improved electrical conductivity for efficient gas sensing

Mohammad Mehdi Pour, University of Nebraska - Lincoln
Andrey Lashkov, Gagarin State Technical University of Saratov
Adrian Radocea, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Ximeng Liu, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Tao Sun, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Alexey Lipatov, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Rafal Korlacki, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Mikhail Shekhirev, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Narayana R. Aluru, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Joseph W. Lyding, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Victor Sysoev, National University of Science and Technology
Alexander Sinitskii, University of Nebraska - Lincoln

Document Type Article

Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Abstract

Narrow atomically precise graphene nanoribbons hold great promise for electronic and optoelectronic applications, but the previously demonstrated nanoribbon-based devices typically suffer from low currents and mobilities. In this study, we explored the idea of lateral extension of graphene nanoribbons for improving their electrical conductivity. We started with a conventional chevron graphene nanoribbon, and designed its laterally extended variant. We synthesized these new graphene nanoribbons in solution and found that the lateral extension results in decrease of their electronic bandgap and improvement in the electrical conductivity of nanoribbon-based thin films. These films were employed in gas sensors and an electronic nose system, which showed improved responsivities to low molecular weight alcohols compared to similar sensors based on benchmark graphitic materials, such as graphene and reduced graphene oxide, and a reliable analyte recognition. This study shows the methodology for designing new atomically precise graphene nanoribbons with improved properties, their bottom-up synthesis, characterization, processing and implementation in electronic devices.