Two-dimensional Bi₂Se₃ nanosheet based flexible infrared photodetector with pencil-drawn graphite electrodes on paper

Flexible optoelectronic devices have been of great significance in recent years, owing to their extensive commercial and military applications. However, the manufacturing processes of most existing flexible photodetectors are particularly complicated and expensive. Employing a facile and low cost way for constructing a high performance flexible infrared photodetector is one of the effective strategies to facilitate its practical applications. Pencil-drawing is a popular method in novel electronic and optoelectronic devices, as it is a low cost and facile fabrication process. Herein, we report a novel flexible infrared photodetector using liquid-exfoliated Bi₂Se₃ nanosheets as a light sensitive material, pencil-drawn graphite as the electrodes, and paper as the substrate. The as-fabricated photodetector exhibits high photocurrent, excellent responsivity and long-term stability under 1064 nm infrared light irradiation. In addition, as the pencil-drawn photodetector is made of a flexible paper substrate, it also well exhibits stability and durability under bending conditions. This work is proposed to be a route to construct a novel flexible infrared photodetector with a facile manufacturing process and low cost.