A graphene nanoribbon network and its biosensing application

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Nanotechnology
• Electronics

Background:

• Graphene oxide nanoribbons (GONRs) offer unique electronic properties.
• Developing efficient fabrication methods for GONRs is crucial for their application.
• Comparing reduction methods impacts the final material's graphitic structure and performance.

Purpose of the Study:

• To synthesize and characterize graphene oxide nanoribbons (GONRs).
• To fabricate thin-film networks of reduced graphene oxide nanoribbons (rGONRs) using spray-coating.
• To evaluate the performance of rGONR networks in field-effect transistors (FETs) and biosensing applications.

Main Methods:

• Chemical unzipping of multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) to form GONRs.
• Spray-coating of GONR thin films followed by chemical (hydrazine vapor) or thermal (ethanol vapor) reduction.
• Characterization using Raman spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS).
• Electrical measurements of rGONR network FETs under liquid-gate configuration.

Main Results:

• Thermal reduction with ethanol vapor more effectively restored the graphitic structure of GONRs compared to chemical reduction.
• rGONR network FETs exhibited significantly higher on/off ratios than networks of reduced graphene oxides (rGOs) or continuous graphene films.
• Demonstrated real-time and sensitive detection of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) molecules using rGONR networks for biosensing.

Conclusions:

• Thermal reduction is superior for restoring the graphitic structure of GONRs.
• rGONR networks present enhanced performance for electronic devices compared to other graphene-based materials.
• rGONR networks show significant potential for sensitive biosensing applications, particularly for ATP detection.