Invited Paper PS+2D-TuA11
A Closer Look at Chemically Modified Graphene

Tuesday, November 8, 2016, 5:40 pm, Room 104B

Graphene has been a research focus due to its numerous unique properties which have motivated vast interdisciplinary research in the search of materials for next-generation technologies. With its unique atomically thin nature, graphene has enabled a closer look at material surface interactions and highlighted the importance of surface interfaces, defects and adsorbates. Purposeful and native defects have demonstrated to have advantageous or adverse influences on the chemical, electrical, optical, mechanical and even magnetic properties of graphene. On the other hand, control of the localization of defects and their arrangement onto ordered and extended structures has enabled new graphene-based materials with novel properties. Surface functionalization has provided the ability to manipulate the material attributes, offering a range of opportunities for the chemically modified materials. It is clear that fundamental understanding of the modification of graphene relies on the understanding of the chemical functionalization dynamics, kinetic barriers, chemical transitions, and diffusion energies experienced by the added adsorbates with the graphene surface as well as the influence of the substrate on each.

Plasmas provide both ease and versatility by enabling a single tool process on a wide range of background gases. In particular, electron-beam generated plasmas can introduce different functional groups over a large coverage range with atomic layer precision, providing the ability to tailor the locality of the surface chemistry on graphene opening up a wide range of reactivity studies and synthesis capabilities. Such unique ability allows for precise nano-engineering of the surface chemistry effecting local electronic properties, electron transfer kinetics, and surface reactivity; opening up a wealth of opportunities in device performance, chemical sensing, bottom-up material growth, plasmonics, and catalysis applications.

This work is supported by the Naval Research Laboratory Base Program.