In-situ observation and atomic resolution imaging of the ion irradiation induced amorphisation of graphene

Porous 2D Catalyst Covers Improve Photoelectrochemical Water-Oxidation Performance

Confined catalysis under the cover of 2D materials has emerged as a promising approach for achieving highly effective catalysts in various essential reactions. In this work, a porous cover structure is designed to boost the interfacial charge and mass transfer kinetics of 2D-covered catalysts. The improvement in catalytic performance is confirmed by the photoelectrochemical oxidation evolution reaction (OER) on a photoanode based on an n-Si substrate modified with a NiOx thin-film model electrocatalyst covered with a porous graphene (pGr) monolayer. Experimental results demonstrate that the pGr cover enhances the OER kinetics by balancing the charge and mass transfer at the photoanode and electrolyte interface compared to the intrinsic graphene cover and cover-free control samples. Theoretical investigations further corroborate that the pore edges of the pGr cover boost the intrinsic catalytic activity of active sites on NiOx by reducing the reaction overpotential. Furthermore, the optimized pores, which can be easily controlled by plasma bombardment, allow oxygen molecules produced in the OER to pass through without peeling off the pGr cover, thus ensuring the structural stability of the catalyst. This study highlights the significant role of the porous cover structure in 2D-covered catalysts and provides new insight into the design of high-performance catalysts.

Unlocking More Potentials in Two-Dimensional Space: Disorder Engineering in Two-Dimensional Amorphous Carbon

The theory of the nature of glass has been described as the deepest but unsolved problem in solid state theory. The fundamental understanding of the structural characteristics of glassy materials and disorder-property correspondence remains incomplete due to difficulties in fully characterizing disordered structures in three-dimensional materials. Recently, two-dimensional amorphous materials were treated as an atomic-level playground to uncover previously unknown structure-property relationships in vitreous materials. Here, we summarize recent research on one prototypical material, two-dimensional amorphous carbon, including atomic structural characterizations, controllable synthesis, exotic properties, and application potentials. Fundamental discrepancies only induced by the amorphous nature, when compared with crystalline materials, will be highlighted. Finally, we discuss the restricted definition of two-dimensional amorphous carbon, existing challenges, and future research directions.

Effect of Electron and Proton Irradiation on Structural and Electronic Properties of Carbon Nanowalls

In this work, a complex experimental study of the effect of electron and proton ionizing radiation on the properties of carbon nanowalls (CNWs) is carried out using various state-of-the-art materials characterization techniques. CNW layers on quartz substrates were exposed to 5 MeV electron and 1.8 MeV proton irradiation with accumulated fluences of 7 × 10¹³ e/cm² and 10¹² p/cm², respectively. It is found that depending on the type of irradiation (electron or proton), the morphology and structural properties of CNWs change; in particular, the wall density decreases, and the sp² hybridization component increases. The morphological and structural changes in turn lead to changes in the electronic, optical, and electrical characteristics of the material, in particular, change in the work function, improvement in optical transmission, an increase in the surface resistance, and a decrease in the specific conductivity of the CNW films. Lastly, this study highlights the potential of CNWs as nanostructured functional materials for novel high-performance radiation-resistant electronic and optoelectronic devices.

Behavior of implanted Xe, Kr and Ar in nanodiamonds and thin graphene stacks: experiment and modeling

Implantation and subsequent behaviour of heavy noble gases (Ar, Kr, and Xe) in few-layer graphene sheets and in nanodiamonds are studied both using computational methods and experimentally using X-ray absorption spectroscopy. X-ray absorption spectroscopy provides substantial support for Xe-vacancy (Xe-V) defects as main sites for Xe in nanodiamonds. It is shown that noble gases in thin graphene stacks distort the layers, forming bulges. The energy of an ion placed in between flat graphene sheets is notably lower than that in domains with high curvature. However, if the ion is trapped in the curved domain, considerable additional energy is required to displace it. This phenomenon is likely responsible for strong binding of noble gases implanted into disordered carbonaceous phase in meteorites (the Q-component).

Quantification and Healing of Defects in Atomically Thin Molybdenum Disulfide: Beyond the Controlled Creation of Atomic Defects

Atomically thin 2D materials provide an opportunity to investigate the atomic-scale details of defects introduced by particle irradiation. Once the atomic configuration of defects and their spatial distribution are revealed, the details of the mesoscopic phenomena can be unveiled. In this work, we created atomically small defects by controlled irradiation of gallium ions with doses ranging from 4.94 × 10¹² to 4.00 × 10¹⁴ ions/cm² on monolayer molybdenum disulfide (MoS₂) crystals. The optical signatures of defects, such as the evolution of defect-activated LA-bands and a broadening of the first-order (E' and A'₁) modes, can be studied by Raman spectroscopy. High-resolution scanning transmission electron microscopy (HR-STEM) analysis revealed that most defects are vacancies of few-molybdenum atoms with surrounding sulfur atoms (V_xMo+yS) at a low ion dose. When increasing the ion dose, the atomic vacancies merge and form nanometer-sized holes. Utilizing HR-STEM and image analysis, we propose the estimation of the finite crystal length (L_fc) via the careful quantification of 0D defects in 2D systems through the formula L_fc = 4.41/ηion, where η_ion corresponds to the ion dose. Combining HR-STEM and Raman spectroscopy, the formula to calculate L_fc from Raman features, I(LA)/I(A'₁) = 5.09/L_fc², is obtained. We have also demonstrated an effective route to healing the ion irradiation-induced atomic vacancies by annealing defective MoS₂ in a hydrogen disulfide (H₂S) atmosphere. The H₂S annealing improved the crystal quality of MoS₂ with L_fc greater than the calculated size of the A exciton wave function, which leads to a partial recovery of the photoluminescence signal after its quenching by ion irradiation.

Nano-patterning of a monolayer molybdenum disulfide with sub-nanometer helium ion beam: considering its shape, size and damage

We have studied nano-patterning of a two-dimensional (2D) material with an ultrafine helium ion beam considering shape-, size- and damage-control. The study reveals that the crystalline structure plays an important role in shape-control. Instead of commonly circular-shaped nanopores, spot irradiation onto a single layer of molybdenum disulfide (MoS₂) gives rise to a rhombus-shaped nanopore, which is well explained by the sub-rhombus crystalline structure of MoS₂. Helium ion beams also show promising capability to precisely control size using a delivered dose. However, the size of the nanopores is not linear with the delivered dose, due to the Gaussian distributed intensity profile of the helium ion beam. The intensity profiles are further estimated by considering aperture size, those results could be taken as a significant reference for size-control. In addition, we clarify that most of the damage is a result of re-deposition, thus controlling re-deposition might be a useful way to alleviate the damage.

Universal behaviors in the wrinkling transition of disordered membranes

The wrinkling transition experimentally identified by Mutz et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 67, 923 (1991)PRLTAO0031-900710.1103/PhysRevLett.67.923] and then thoroughly studied by Chaieb et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 96, 078101 (2006)]PRLTAO0031-900710.1103/PhysRevLett.96.078101 in partially polymerized lipid membranes is reconsidered. One shows that the features associated with this transition, notably the various scaling behaviors of the height-height correlation functions that have been observed, are qualitatively and quantitatively well described by a recent nonperturbative renormalization group approach to quenched disordered membranes by Coquand et al. [Phys. Rev E 97, 030102(R) (2018)]2470-004510.1103/PhysRevE.97.030102. As these behaviors are associated with fixed points of renormalization group transformations they are universal and should also be observed in, e.g., defective graphene and graphene-like materials.

Evolution of intrinsic vacancies and prolonged lifetimes of vacancy clusters in black phosphorene

Due to the relatively low formation energies and highly mobile characteristics of atomic vacancies in phosphorene, understanding their evolution becomes crucial for its structural integrity, chemical activities and applications. Herein, by combining first-principles calculations and kinetic Monte Carlo simulation, we investigate the time evolution and formation of atomic vacancy clusters from isolated monovacancies (MVs), aiming to uncover the mechanisms of diffusion, annihilation, and reaction of these atomic vacancies. We find that while isolated MVs possess a highly mobile characteristic, they react and form MV pairs which possess much lower mobility and high stability under ambient conditions. We also show that the disappearance of MVs at the edge is quite slow due to the relatively high energy barrier, and as a result, around 80% of MVs remain even after two years under ambient conditions. Our findings on one hand provide useful information for the structural repairing of phosphorene through chemical functionalization of these vacancy clusters, and on the other hand, suggest that these rather stable vacancy clusters may be used as activated catalysts.

Ionic Conductance through Graphene: Assessing Its Applicability as a Proton Selective Membrane

Inspired by recent reports on possible proton conductance through graphene, we have investigated the behavior of pristine graphene and defect engineered graphene membranes for ionic conductance and selectivity with the goal of evaluating a possibility of its application as a proton selective membrane. The averaged conductance for pristine chemical vapor deposited (CVD) graphene at pH1 is ∼4 mS/cm² but varies strongly due to contributions from the unavoidable defects in our CVD graphene. From the variations in the conductance with electrolyte strength and pH, we can conclude that pristine graphene is fairly selective and the conductance is mainly due to protons. Engineering of the defects with ion beam (He⁺, Ga⁺) irradiation and plasma (N₂ and H₂) treatment showed improved areal conductance with high proton selectivity mostly for He-ion beam and H₂ plasma treatments, which agrees with primarily vacancy-free type of defects produced in these cases confirmed by Raman analysis.

Evidence of a two-dimensional glass transition in graphene: Insights from molecular simulations

Liquids exhibit a sudden increase in viscosity when cooled fast enough, avoiding thermodynamically predicted route of crystallization. This phenomenon, known as glass transition, leads to the formation of non-periodic structures known as glasses. Extensive studies have been conducted on model materials to understand glass transition in two dimensions. However, despite the synthesis of disordered/amorphous single-atom thick structures of carbon, little attention has been given to glass transition in realistic two-dimensional materials such as graphene. Herein, using molecular dynamics simulation, we demonstrate the existence of glass transition in graphene leading to a realistic two-dimensional glassy structure, namely glassy graphene. We show that the resulting glassy structure exhibits excellent agreement with experimentally realized disordered graphene. Interestingly, this glassy graphene exhibits a wrinkled but stable structure, with reduced thermal vibration in comparison to its crystalline counterpart. We suggest that the topological disorder induced by glass transition governs the unique properties of this structure.

Suppression of wrinkle formation in graphene on Ir(111) by high-temperature, low-energy ion irradiation

Graphene on Ir(111) is irradiated with small fluences of 500 eV He ions at temperatures close to its chemical vapor deposition growth temperature. The ion irradiation experiments explore whether it is possible to suppress the formation of wrinkles in Gr during growth. It is found that the release of thermal mismatch strain by wrinkle formation can be entirely suppressed for an irradiation temperature of 880 °C. A model for the ion beam induced suppression of wrinkle formation in supported Gr is presented, and underpinned by experiments varying the irradiation temperature or involving intercalation subsequent to irradiation.

Study of Implantation Defects in CVD Graphene by Optical and Electrical Methods

A Chemical Vapor Deposition graphene monolayer grown on 6H–SiC (0001) substrates was used for implantation experiments. The graphene samples were irradiated by He+ and N+ ions. The Raman spectra and electrical transport parameters were measured as a function of increasing implantation fluence. The defect concentration was determined from intensity ratio of the Raman D and G peaks, while the carrier’s concentration was determined from the relations between G and 2D Raman modes energies. It was found that the number of defects generated by one ion is 0.0025 and 0.045 and the mean defect radius about 1.5 and 1.34 nm for He+ and N+, respectively. Hole concentration and mobility were determined from van der Pauw measurements. It was found that mobility decreases nearly by three orders of magnitude with increase of defect concentration. The inverse of mobility versus defect concentration is a linear function, which indicates that the main scattering mechanism is related to defects generated by ion implantation. The slope of inverse mobility versus defect concentration provides the value of defect radius responsible for scattering carriers at about 0.75 nm. This estimated defect radius indicates that the scattering centres most likely consist of reconstructed divacancies or larger vacancy complexes.

Defect formation in multiwalled carbon nanotubes under low-energy He and Ne ion irradiation

The mechanical, structural, electronic and magnetic properties of carbon nanotubes can be modified by electron or ion irradiation. In this work we used 25 keV He+ and Ne+ ion irradiation to study the influence of fluence and sample thickness on the irradiation-induced damage of multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs). The irradiated areas have been characterised by correlative Raman spectroscopy and TEM imaging. In order to preclude the Raman contribution coming from the amorphous carbon support of typical TEM grids, a new methodology involving Raman inactive Au TEM grids was developed. The experimental results have been compared to SDTRIMSP simulations. Due to the small thickness of the MWCNTs, sputtering has been observed for the top and bottom side of the samples. Depending on thickness and ion species, the sputter yield is significantly higher for the bottom than the top side. For He+ and Ne+ irradiation, damage formation evolves differently, with a change in the trend of the ratio of D to G peak in the Raman spectra being observed for He+ but not for Ne+. This can be attributed to differences in stopping power and sputter behaviour.

Realization of continuous Zachariasen carbon monolayer

Rapid progress in two-dimensional (2D) crystalline materials has recently enabled a range of device possibilities. These possibilities may be further expanded through the development of advanced 2D glass materials. Zachariasen carbon monolayer, a novel amorphous 2D carbon allotrope, was successfully synthesized on germanium surface. The one-atom-thick continuous amorphous layer, in which the in-plane carbon network was fully sp²-hybridized, was achieved at high temperatures (>900°C) and a controlled growth rate. We verified that the charge carriers within the Zachariasen carbon monolayer are strongly localized to display Anderson insulating behavior and a large negative magnetoresistance. This new 2D glass also exhibited a unique ability as an atom-thick interface layer, allowing the deposition of an atomically flat dielectric film. It can be adopted in conventional semiconductor and display processing or used in the fabrication of flexible devices consisting of thin inorganic layers.

Atomistic-Scale Simulations of Defect Formation in Graphene under Noble Gas Ion Irradiation

Despite the frequent use of noble gas ion irradiation of graphene, the atomistic-scale details, including the effects of dose, energy, and ion bombardment species on defect formation, and the associated dynamic processes involved in the irradiations and subsequent relaxation have not yet been thoroughly studied. Here, we simulated the irradiation of graphene with noble gas ions and the subsequent effects of annealing. Lattice defects, including nanopores, were generated after the annealing of the irradiated graphene, which was the result of structural relaxation that allowed the vacancy-type defects to coalesce into a larger defect. Larger nanopores were generated by irradiation with a series of heavier noble gas ions, due to a larger collision cross section that led to more detrimental effects in the graphene, and by a higher ion dose that increased the chance of displacing the carbon atoms from graphene. Overall trends in the evolution of defects with respect to a dose, as well as the defect characteristics, were in good agreement with experimental results. Additionally, the statistics in the defect types generated by different irradiating ions suggested that the most frequently observed defect types were Stone-Thrower-Wales (STW) defects for He(+) irradiation and monovacancy (MV) defects for all other ion irradiations.

Non-oxidative, controlled exfoliation of graphite in aqueous medium

We present a simple, non-oxidative and controlled method to synthesize graphene monolayers by exfoliation in water from different solid carbon sources, such as highly ordered pyrolytic graphite and low density graphite. Any water based method is highly desirable due to several attractive features, such as environmental friendliness, low cost and wide compatibility with other water based processes. We show that thin graphene layers can be exfoliated controllably and reproducibly by varying different parameters during exfoliation in aqueous medium. It has been possible to obtain high quality graphene monolayers with a yield of ∼2.45 wt%, which can be increased up to 16.6 wt% by recycling the sediments. Field effect transistors based on exfoliated graphene monolayers have shown n-type doping and a high carrier mobility of 4500 cm(2) V(-1) s(-1) at room temperature and ∼20 000 cm(2) V(-1) s(-1) at low temperature. Density functional calculations corroborate the infrared spectroscopic results and also indicate that the charge transfer preferentially occurs from water molecules to the graphene sheets resulting in n-type doping. We anticipate that exfoliation of high quality graphene layers in aqueous medium would open up a pathway for various graphene based electronic and biological applications.

Graphene growth from reduced graphene oxide by chemical vapour deposition: seeded growth accompanied by restoration

Understanding the underlying mechanisms involved in graphene growth via chemical vapour deposition (CVD) is critical for precise control of the characteristics of graphene. Despite much effort, the actual processes behind graphene synthesis still remain to be elucidated in a large number of aspects. Herein, we report the evolution of graphene properties during in-plane growth of graphene from reduced graphene oxide (RGO) on copper (Cu) via methane CVD. While graphene is laterally grown from RGO flakes on Cu foils up to a few hundred nanometres during CVD process, it shows appreciable improvement in structural quality. The monotonous enhancement of the structural quality of the graphene with increasing length of the graphene growth from RGO suggests that seeded CVD growth of graphene from RGO on Cu surface is accompanied by the restoration of graphitic structure. The finding provides insight into graphene growth and defect reconstruction useful for the production of tailored carbon nanostructures with required properties.

Effective fluorination of single-layer graphene by high-energy ion irradiation through a LiF overlayer

A new non-chemical method for heteroatom doping into single-layer graphene was demonstrated by high-energy ion irradiation of the graphene-based heterostructure.

Toward Two-Dimensional All-Carbon Heterostructures via Ion Beam Patterning of Single-Layer Graphene

Graphene has many claims to fame: it is the thinnest possible membrane, it has unique electronic and excellent mechanical properties, and it provides the perfect model structure for studying materials science at the atomic level. However, for many practical studies and applications the ordered hexagon arrangement of carbon atoms in graphene is not directly suitable. Here, we show that the atoms can be locally either removed or rearranged into a random pattern of polygons using a focused ion beam (FIB). The atomic structure of the disordered regions is confirmed with atomic-resolution scanning transmission electron microscopy images. These structural modifications can be made on macroscopic scales with a spatial resolution determined only by the size of the ion beam. With just one processing step, three types of structures can be defined within a graphene layer: chemically inert graphene, chemically active amorphous 2D carbon, and empty areas. This, along with the changes in properties, gives promise that FIB patterning of graphene will open the way for creating all-carbon heterostructures to be used in fields ranging from nanoelectronics and chemical sensing to composite materials.

Covalent functionalization of N-doped graphene by N-alkylation

N-Functionalization of N-graphene is described by the first time. It can be efficiently achieved combining phase transfer catalysis and microwave irradiation. The influence of functionalization on the optical band gap is studied.