Barbara Pacakova1,Paulo Michels Brito1,Josef Breu2,Koiti Araki3,Jon Otto Fossum1
Norwegian University of Science and Technology1,University of Bayreuth2,USP Sao Paulo3
Barbara Pacakova1,Paulo Michels Brito1,Josef Breu2,Koiti Araki3,Jon Otto Fossum1
Norwegian University of Science and Technology1,University of Bayreuth2,USP Sao Paulo3
Material properties of graphene<sup>1–3</sup>, such as mechanical, electronic, optical, and chemical, can be altered by changing its topography<sup>4–6</sup>. Many applications based on the capture of gases and molecules, such as graphene sensors<sup>7</sup>, require enhancement of chemical reactivity and subsequent functionalization of graphene. However, planar structure of graphene is disadvantageous for this purpose as in general, graphene carbon atoms located within the plane are almost inert compared to C atoms on defects and edges that are more reactive.<br/>Enhanced chemical reactivity can be achieved by increasing the curvature of topographical features <sup>4,6</sup> – by wrinkling, rippling and crumpling<sup>8</sup>, as curved parts are more reactive than planar regions.<br/>Here we report unique wide band gap insulating single layers of high aspect ratio, that wrinkle spontaneously after deposition on a substrate – 1 nm thin clay mineral sheets decorated with nanoparticles. As these nanosheets readily disperse in water, this approach of formation of self-wrinkled substrates allows creation of self-assembled wrinkled 2D heterostructures, including graphene.<br/>References:<br/>1. K., G. A. & S., N. K. The rise of graphene. <i>Nat. Mater.</i> <b>6</b>, 183–191 (2007).<br/>2. Katsnelson, M. I. Graphene: carbon in two dimensions. <i>Mater. Today</i> <b>10</b>, 20–27 (2007).<br/>3. Castro Neto, A. H., Peres, N. M. R., Novoselov, K. S. & Geim, A. K. The electronic properties of graphene. <i>Rev. Mod. Phys.</i> <b>81</b>, 109–162 (2009).<br/>4. Deng, S. & Berry, V. Wrinkled, rippled and crumpled graphene: An overview of formation mechanism, electronic properties, and applications. <i>Mater. Today</i> <b>19</b>, 197–212 (2016).<br/>5. Pacheco Sanjuan, A. A., Mehboudi, M., Harriss, E. O., Terrones, H. & Barraza-Lopez, S. Quantitative chemistry and the discrete geometry of conformal atom-thin crystals. <i>ACS Nano</i> <b>8</b>, 1136–1146 (2014).<br/>6. Deng, S. <i>et al.</i> Graphene Wrinkles Enable Spatially Defined Chemistry. <i>Nano Lett.</i> <b>19</b>, 5640–5646 (2019).<br/>7. Tian, W., Liu, X. & Yu, W. Research progress of gas sensor based on graphene and its derivatives: A review. <i>Appl. Sci.</i> <b>8</b>, (2018).<br/>8. Boukhvalov, D. W. & Katsnelson, M. I. Enhancement of chemical activity in corrugated graphene. <i>J. Phys. Chem. C</i> <b>113</b>, 14176–14178 (2009).