Seung Yol Jeong

High-performance transparent conductive films using rheologically derived reduced graphene oxide.

In this work, we produced large-area graphene oxide (GO) sheets with fewer defects on the basal plane by application of shear stress in solution to obtain high-quality reduced graphene oxide (RGO) sheets without the need for post-annealing processes. This is described as rheologically derived RGO. The large-area GO sheets were generated using a homogenizer in aqueous solution, which induced slippage of the GO in the in-plane direction during the exfoliation process, in contrast with the conventional sonication method. The effects of chemical reduction under mild conditions demonstrated that the formation of structural defects during the exfoliation process affected the RGO properties. In the Raman spectra, the I(D)/I(G) ratio of the homogenized RGO (HRGO) increased more than that of the sonicated RGO (SRGO) due to the large number of ordered six-fold rings on the basal plane. The enhanced sheet resistance of the HRGO thin film was found to be 2.2 kΩ/sq at 80% transmittance. The effective exfoliation method has great potential for application to high-performance RGO-transparent conducting films.

Electrically Robust Metal Nanowire Network Formation by In-Situ Interconnection with Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes

Modulation of the junction resistance between metallic nanowires is a crucial factor for high performance of the network-structured conducting film. Here, we show that under current flow, silver nanowire (AgNW) network films can be stabilised by minimizing the Joule heating at the NW-NW junction assisted by in-situ interconnection with a small amount (less than 3 wt%) of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs). This was achieved by direct deposition of AgNW suspension containing SWCNTs functionalised with quadruple hydrogen bonding moieties excluding dispersant molecules. The electrical stabilisation mechanism of AgNW networks involves the modulation of the electrical transportation pathway by the SWCNTs through the SWCNT-AgNW junctions, which results in a relatively lower junction resistance than the NW-NW junction in the network film. In addition, we propose that good contact and Fermi level matching between AgNWs and modified SWCNTs lead to the modulation of the current pathway. The SWCNT-induced stabilisation of the AgNW networks was also demonstrated by irradiating the film with microwaves. The development of the high-throughput fabrication technology provides a robust and scalable strategy for realizing high-performance flexible transparent conductor films.

Extremely efficient liquid exfoliation and dispersion of layered materials by unusual acoustic cavitation.

Layered materials must be exfoliated and dispersed in solvents for diverse applications. Usually, highly energetic probe sonication may be considered to be an unfavourable method for the less defective exfoliation and dispersion of layered materials. Here we show that judicious use of ultrasonic cavitation can produce exfoliated transition metal dichalcogenide nanosheets extraordinarily dispersed in non-toxic solvent by minimising the sonolysis of solvent molecules. Our method can also lead to produce less defective, large graphene oxide nanosheets from graphite oxide in a short time (within 10 min), which show high electrical conductivity (>20,000 S m−1) of the printed film. This was achieved by adjusting the ultrasonic probe depth to the liquid surface to generate less energetic cavitation (delivered power ~6 W), while maintaining sufficient acoustic shearing (0.73 m s−1) and generating additional microbubbling by aeration at the liquid surface.

Dispersant-free conducting pastes for flexible and printed nanocarbon electrodes.

The dispersant-free fabrication of highly conducting pastes based on organic solvents with nanocarbon materials such as carbon nanotubes and graphene nanoplatelets has been hindered by severe agglomeration. Here we report a straightforward method for fabricating nanocarbon suspensions with >10% weight concentrations in absence of organic dispersants. The method involves introducing supramolecular quadruple hydrogen-bonding motifs into the nanocarbon materials without sacrificing the electrical conductivity. Printed films of these materials show high electrical conductivity of ~500,000 S m(-1) by hybridization with 5 vol% silver nanowires. In addition, the printed nanocarbon electrodes provide high-performance alternatives to the platinum catalytic electrodes commonly used in dye-sensitized solar cells and electrochemical electrodes in supercapacitors. The judicious use of supramolecular interactions allows fabrication of printable, spinnable and chemically compatible conducting pastes with high-quality nanocarbon materials, useful in flexible electronics and textile electronics.

Enhanced Electrical Properties of Reduced Graphene Oxide Multilayer Films by In-Situ Insertion of a TiO2 Layer

Wrinkle-free reduced graphene oxide (rGO)/TiO(2) hybrid multilayer films were directly fabricated using an rGO solution stabilized by a TiO(2) precursor sol applied over a large area by an air spraying method without the use of additional reduction processes. In-situ insertion of the TiO(2) layer between rGO sheets dramatically increased the conductivity and carrier mobility despite the insulating properties of amorphous TiO(2). The TiO(2) situated between rGO sheets also induced significant hole doping. Electrical hysteresis caused by adsorbed water molecules and residual oxidative moieties in the rGO nanosheets vanished due to TiO(2)-assisted screening of charged impurities. These effects decreased the thermal carrier activation energy and increased the density of states at the Fermi level. Ambipolar transport properties were converted into unipolar-like hole transport characteristics by extensive hole doping in the TiO(2) layer.

Dual-catalyst growth of vertically aligned carbon nanotubes at low temperature in thermal chemical vapor deposition

Abstract Vertically aligned carbon nanotubes (CNTs) were successfully synthesized at 550 °C on Ni-coated Si substrate placed parallel to Pd plate as a dual catalyst and a tungsten wire filament. The CNT length increased with increasing gas flow rates even at such a low growth temperature, suggesting that the hydrocarbon gases were sufficiently decomposed in the presence of tungsten wire filament and dual Pd catalyst. The difference of growth behavior from that at high temperature was explained by introducing the Ni–C solid solution, which enables the carbon atoms to diffuse more easily even at low temperature.

Flexible Field Emission from Thermally Welded Chemically Doped Graphene Thin Films

Flexible field-emission devices (FEDs) based on reduced graphene oxide (RGO) emitters are fabricated by the thermal welding of RGO thin films onto a polymeric substrate. The RGO edges are vertically aligned relative to the substrate as a result of cohesive failure in the RGO layer after thermal welding. Even at large bending angles, excellent electron emission properties, such as low turn-on and threshold fields, a high emission current density, a high field enhancement factor, and long-term stability of the emission properties of RGO emitters, arise from the uniform distribution and high density of the extremely sharp RGO edges, as well as the high interfacial strength between the RGO emitters and the substrate. Al- and Au-doped RGO emitters are fabricated by introducing a dopant solution to the RGO emitters, and the resulting field-emission characteristics are discussed. The proposed approach is straightforward and enables the practical use of high-performance RGO flexible FEDs.

Self-passivation of transparent single-walled carbon nanotube films on plastic substrates by microwave-induced rapid nanowelding

We developed a straightforward method for enhancing the environmental stability of transparent single-walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT) network films on plastic substrates using a rapid microwave heating to produce SWCNT film–substrate nanowelding without any chemicals. The selective heating of SWCNTs induced by microwave irradiation leads to embedding the SWCNTs in the substrate, even within 10 s, without distortion of the substrate. The SWCNTs-embedded surface of the substrate played the role of a self-passivation layer that protected the SWCNTs from water molecules. The sheet resistance values of the nanowelded films had not increased more than 10%.

Monolithic Graphene Trees as Anode Material for Lithium Ion Batteries with High C-Rates.

Monolithically structured reduced graphene oxide (rGO), prepared from a highly concentrated and conductive rGO paste, is introduced as an anode material for lithium ion batteries with high rate capacities. This is achieved by a mixture of rGO paste and the water-soluble polymer sodium carboxymethylcellulose (SCMC) with freeze drying. Unlike previous 3D graphene porous structures, the monolithic graphene resembles densely branched pine trees and has high mechanical stability with strong adhesion to the metal electrodes. The structures contain numerous large surface area open pores that facilitate lithium ion diffusion, while the strong hydrogen bonding between the graphene layers and SCMC provides high conductivity and reduces the volume changes that occur during cycling. Ultrafast charge/discharge rates are obtained with outstanding cycling stability and the capacities are higher than those reported for other anode materials. The fabrication process is simple and straightforward to adjust and is therefore suitable for mass production of anode electrodes for commercial applications.

Photocurrent of CdSe nanocrystals on single-walled carbon nanotube-field effect transistor

CdSe nanocrystals (NCs) have been decorated on single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) by combining a method of chemically modified substrate along with gate-bias control. CdSe∕ZnS core/shell quantum dots were negatively charged by adding mercaptoacetic acid. The silicon oxide substrate was decorated by octadecyltrichlorosilane and converted to hydrophobic surface. The negatively charged CdSe NCs were adsorbed on the SWCNT surface by applying a negative gate bias. The measured photocurrent clearly demonstrates that CdSe NCs decorated SWCNT can be used for photodetector and solar cell that are operable over a wide range of wavelengths.