Lianlian Chen

Graphene covered SiC powder as advanced photocatalytic material

Graphene covered SiC powder (GCSP) has been fabricated by well established method of high temperature thermal decomposition of SiC. The structural and photocatalystic characteristics of the prepared GCSP were investigated and compared with that of the pristine SiC powder. Under UV illumination, more than 100% enhancement in photocatalystic activity is achieved in degradation of Rhodamine B (Rh B) by GCSP catalyst than by pristine SiC powder. The possible mechanisms underlining the observed results are discussed. The results suggested that GCSP as a composite of graphene based material has great potential for use as a high performance photocatalyst.

Towards intrinsic magnetism of graphene sheets with irregular zigzag edges

The magnetism of graphene has remained divergent and controversial due to absence of reliable experimental results. Here we show the intrinsic magnetism of graphene edge states revealed based on unidirectional aligned graphene sheets derived from completely carbonized SiC crystals. It is found that ferromagnetism, antiferromagnetism and diamagnetism along with a probable superconductivity exist in the graphene with irregular zigzag edges. A phase diagram is constructed to show the evolution of the magnetism. The ferromagnetic ordering curie-temperature of the fundamental magnetic order unit (FMOU) is 820 ± 80 K. The antiferromagnetic ordering Neel temperature of the FMOUs belonging to different sublattices is about 54 ± 2 K. The diamagnetism is similar to that of graphite and can be well described by the Kotosonovs equation. Our experimental results provide new evidences to clarify the controversial experimental phenomena observed in graphene and contribute to a deeper insight into the nature of magnetism in graphene based system.

Voltage tunable two-color InAs∕GaAs quantum dot infrared photodetector

We report a bias voltage tunable two-color InAs/GaAs quantum dot infrared photodetector working under the normal incidence infared irradiation. The two-color detection of our device is realized by combining a photovoltaic and a photoconductive response by bias voltage tuning. The photovoltaic response is attributed to the transition of electron from the ground state to a high continuum state. The photoconductive response arises from the transition of electron from the ground state to the wetting layer state through the barrier via Fowler-Nordheim tunneling evidenced by a broad feature of the photocurrent peak on the high energy side

Fabrication of vertically aligned graphene sheets on SiC substrates

Fabrication of unidirectional arrays of VAGSs were achieved on nonpolar (100) and (110) SiC substrates by thermal decomposition of SiC. The morphology and structural characteristics of the VAGSs were studied and compared with that of the VAGSs grown on the (000) (C-face) SiC substrate. It is found that the basal plane orientations of the VAGSs are predominantly influenced by the orientation of the SiC substrate. The mechanisms behind the phenomena were studied and discussed. As an example, the anisotropic magnetism of graphene was studied with applied magnetic field parallel and perpendicular to the graphene plane based on fully carbonized VAGSs. A nonpolar SiC substrate is a new choice for the reproducible and convenient fabrication of massive ordering graphene arrays for both fundamental research and potential applications of graphene based functional materials.

A comparison of the field emission characteristics of vertically aligned graphene sheets grown on different SiC substrates

The field emission (FE) properties of vertically aligned graphene sheets (VAGSs) grown on different SiC substrates are reported. The VAGSs grown on nonpolar SiC (10-10) substrate show an ordered alignment with the graphene basal plane-parallel to each other, and show better FE features, with a lower turn-on field and a larger field enhancement factor. The VAGSs grown on polar SiC (000-1) substrate reveal a random petaloid-shaped arrangement and stable current emission over 8 hours with a maximum emission current fluctuation of only 4%. The reasons behind the differing FE characteristics of the VAGSs on different SiC substrates are analyzed and discussed.

Controllable growth of vertically aligned graphene on C-face SiC

We investigated how to control the growth of vertically aligned graphene on C-face SiC by varying the processing conditions. It is found that, the growth rate scales with the annealing temperature and the graphene height is proportional to the annealing time. Temperature gradient and crystalline quality of the SiC substrates influence their vaporization. The partial vapor pressure is crucial as it can interfere with further vaporization. A growth mechanism is proposed in terms of physical vapor transport. The monolayer character of vertically aligned graphene is verified by Raman and X-ray absorption spectroscopy. With the processed samples, d0 magnetism is realized and negative magnetoresistance is observed after Cu implantation. We also prove that multiple carriers exist in vertically aligned graphene.