Recently, monolayers of layered transition metal dichalcogenides (LTMD), such as MX2 (M = Mo, W and X = S, Se), have been reported to exhibit significant spin-valley coupling and optoelectronic performances because of the unique structural symmetry and band structures. Monolayers in this class of materials offered a burgeoning field in fundamental physics, energy harvesting, electronics, and optoelectronics. However, most studies to date are hindered by great challenges on the synthesis and transfer of high-quality LTMD monolayers. Hence, a feasible synthetic process to overcome the challenges is essential. Here, we demonstrate the growth of high-quality MS2 (M = Mo, W) monolayers using ambient-pressure chemical vapor deposition (APCVD) with the seeding of perylene-3,4,9,10-tetracarboxylic acid tetrapotassium salt (PTAS). The growth of a MS2 monolayer is achieved on various surfaces with a significant flexibility to surface corrugation. Electronic transport and optical performances of the as-grown MS2 monolayers are comparable to those of exfoliated MS2 monolayers. We also demonstrate a robust technique in transferring the MS2 monolayer samples to diverse surfaces, which may stimulate the progress on the class of materials and open a new route toward the synthesis of various novel hybrid structures with LTMD monolayer and functional materials.

A sol-gel chemistry approach was used to fabricate nanoparticles of TiO(2) in its anatase form. The particle size is shown to be sensitive to the use of HClO(4) or HNO(3) as acid catalyst. The gold-capped TiO(2) nanocomposites were processed by the reduction of gold on the surface of the TiO(2) nanoparticles via a chemical reduction or a photoreduction method. Different percentages of vanadium-doped TiO(2) nanoparticles, which extended the TiO(2) absorption wavelength from the ultraviolet to the visible region, were successfully prepared. The synthesized nanocomposites have a size of about 12-18 nm and an anatase phase as characterized by XRD, TEM, AFM, and UV-vis spectroscopy. The TiO(2) nanocomposite coatings have been applied on glass slide substrates. The antibacterial activity of TiO(2) nanocomposites was investigated qualitatively and quantitatively. Two types of bacteria, Escherichia coli (DH 5alpha) and Bacillus megaterium (QM B1551), were used during the experiments. Good inhibition results were observed and demonstrated visually. The quantitative examination of bacterial activity for E. coli was estimated by the survival ratio as calculated from the number of viable cells, which form colonies on the nutrient agar plates. The antimicrobial efficiency and inhibition mechanisms are illustrated and discussed.

A three-dimensional Ni foam deposited with graphene layers on surfaces is used as a conducting solid support to load MoS(x) catalysts for electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution. The graphene sheets grown on Ni foams provide robust protection and efficiently increase the stability in acid. The superior performance of hydrogen evolution is attributed to the relatively high catalyst loading weight as well as its relatively low resistance.

1322 wileyonlinelibrary.com applications in fi elds of healthcare monitoring, human-computer interaction, and electronic skin. [ 12 ] The relative resistance Δ R normalized by the initial resistance R 0 depends on Poisson's ratio ( ν ) and resistivity variation (Δ ρ ) normalized by its initial resistivity ρ 0 through the expression ΔR / R 0 = (1 + 2ν) ε + Δ ρ / ρ 0.[ 13 ] The sensitivity revealed by gauge factor (GF, defi ned as ( ΔR / R 0 )/ ε ) depends on both intrinsic property and structural feature. According to this formula, graphene-based strain sensors have shown low sensitivities due to the rigid and stable structure of intrinsic graphene. [ 14 ] With hardly opened band gap, the GF of a suspended graphene is only about 1.9 under moderate uniaxial strains. [ 15 ] Therefore, structural engineering of graphene is needed to boost the sensitivity of graphene-based strain sensors.Adjustment of the connection channels in graphene is an effective way to alter its resistivity for improved sensitivity in strain sensors. Two common methods for the structural construction of graphene include high temperature processing based chemical vapor deposition (CVD) and solution processing based sheets/fl akes assembly. As for CVD, the resistivity of graphene would be affected by its grain boundary, grain size, and the defect density. [16][17][18] Continuous graphene fi lms grown by CVD could sustain 1% strain with a GF of only 6.1, [ 19 ] and the GF increases to 151 for a 5% strain due to the morphological Large-Area Ultrathin Graphene Films by Single-Step Marangoni Self-Assembly for Highly Sensitive Strain Sensing ApplicationXinming Li , Tingting Yang , Yao Yang , Jia Zhu , Li Li , Fakhr E. Alam , Xiao Li , Kunlin Wang , Huanyu Cheng , Cheng-Te Lin , * Ying Fang , * and Hongwei Zhu * Promoted by the demand for wearable devices, graphene has been proved to be a promising material for potential applications in fl exible and highly sensitive strain sensors. However, low sensitivity and complex processing of graphene retard the development toward the practical applications. Here, an environment-friendly and cost-effective method to fabricate large-area ultrathin graphene fi lms is proposed for highly sensitive fl exible strain sensor. The assembled graphene fi lms are derived rapidly at the liquid/air interface by Marangoni effect and the area can be scaled up. These graphene-based strain sensors exhibit extremely high sensitivity with gauge factor of 1037 at 2% strain, which represents the highest value for graphene platelets at this small deformation so far. This simple fabrication for strain sensors with highly sensitive performance of strain sensor makes it a novel approach to applications in electronic skin, wearable sensors, and health monitoring platforms.

The opening of an electrical band gap in graphene is crucial for its application for logic circuits. Recent studies have shown that an energy gap in Bernal-stacked bilayer graphene can be generated by applying an electric displacement field. Molecular doping has also been proposed to open the electrical gap of bilayer graphene by breaking either in-plane symmetry or inversion symmetry; however, no direct observation of an electrical gap has been reported. Here we discover that the organic molecule triazine is able to form a uniform thin coating on the top surface of a bilayer graphene, which efficiently blocks the accessible doping sites and prevents ambient p-doping on the top layer. The charge distribution asymmetry between the top and bottom layers can then be enhanced simply by increasing the p-doping from oxygen/moisture to the bottom layer. The on/off current ratio for a bottom-gated bilayer transistor operated in ambient condition is improved by at least 1 order of magnitude. The estimated electrical band gap is up to ∼111 meV at room temperature. The observed electrical band gap dependence on the hole-carrier density increase agrees well with the recent density-functional theory calculations. This research provides a simple method to obtain a graphene bilayer transistor with a moderate on/off current ratio, which can be stably operated in air without the need to use an additional top gate.

The photoluminescence signals of a graphene/MoS2 heterostructural stacking film are sensitive to environmental charges, which allows the single-base sequence-selective detection of DNA hybridization with sensitivity to the level of aM.

Large-area graphene grown by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) is a promising candidate for transparent conducting electrode applications in flexible optoelectronic devices such as light-emitting diodes or organic solar cells. However, the power conversion efficiency (PCE) of the polymer photovoltaic devices using a pristine CVD graphene anode is still not appealing due to its much lower conductivity than that of conventional indium tin oxide. We report a layer-by-layer molecular doping process on graphene for forming sandwiched graphene/tetracyanoquinodimethane (TCNQ)/graphene stacked films for polymer solar cell anodes, where the TCNQ molecules (as p-dopants) were securely embedded between two graphene layers. Poly(3-hexylthiophene)/phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester (P3HT/PCBM) bulk heterojunction polymer solar cells based on these multilayered graphene/TCNQ anodes are fabricated and characterized. The P3HT/PCBM device with an anode structure composed of two TCNQ layers sandwiched by three CVD graphene layers shows optimum PCE (∼2.58%), which makes the proposed anode film quite attractive for next-generation flexible devices demanding high conductivity and transparency.

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