| AVS 56th International Symposium & Exhibition | |
| Nanometer-scale Science and Technology | Wednesday Sessions |
| Session NS-WeA |
| Session: | Nanotubes - Electronics and Functionalization |
| Presenter: | R.C. Haddon, University of California, Riverside |
| Correspondent: | Click to Email |
We have recently demonstrated the high density functionalization of epitaxial graphene wafers with nitrophenyl groups.[Bekyarova, E.; Itkis, M. E.; Ramesh, P.; Berger, C.; Sprinkle, M.; de Heer, W. A.; Haddon, R. C., Chemical Modification of Epitaxial Graphene: Spontaneous Grafting of Aryl Groups. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2009, 131, 1336-1337] The chemical formation of covalent carbon-carbon bonds involving the basal plane carbon atoms offers a versatile approach to the control of the electronic properties of graphene; the transformation of the carbon centres from sp2 to sp3 introduces a barrier to electron flow by saturating the carbon atoms and opening a band gap which allows the generation of insulating and semiconducting regions in graphene wafers. This prototype chemistry when applied to carbon nanotubes allowed both covalent and ionic modification of the electronic structure; covalent attachment of functional groups was shown to transform the metallic single-walled carbon nanotubes into semiconductors.
In this talk I will discuss our recent results on the electronic and magnetic properties of chemically modified graphene and its relationship to single walled carbon nanotubes.