The electrical transport property of the reduced graphene oxide (rGO) thin-films synthesized from defective GO through thermal treatment in a reactive ethanol environment at high temperature above 1000 °C shows a band-like transport with small thermal activation energy (Ea~10 meV) that occurs during high carrier mobility (~210 cm2/Vs). Electrical and structural analysis using X-ray absorption fine structure, the valence band photo-electron, Raman spectra and transmission electron microscopy indicate that a high temperature process above 1000 °C in the ethanol environment leads to an extraordinary expansion of the conjugated π-electron system in rGO due to the efficient restoration of the graphitic structure. We reveal that Ea decreases with the increasing density of states near the Fermi level due to the expansion of the conjugated π-electron system in the rGO. This means that Ea corresponds to the energy gap between the top of the valence band and the bottom of the conduction band. The origin of the band-like transport can be explained by the carriers, which are more easily excited into the conduction band due to the decreasing energy gap with the expansion of the conjugated π-electron system in the rGO.

On/off switch: Template‐assisted step‐electrochemical growth is used to fabricate ionic–electronic conductors based on heteronanowire arrays. A two‐electrode configuration with a Ag/Ag2S heteronanowire array shows a reversible electrical switching behavior (see picture) that is attributed to controllable creation and dissolution of a Ag conducting nanobridge inside Ag2S wire segments.

We have developed and tested a new method of fabricating nanogaps using a combination of self-assembled molecular and electron beam lithographic techniques. The method enables us to control the gap size with an accuracy of approximately 2 nm and designate the positions where the nanogaps should be formed with high-resolution patterning by using electron beam lithography. We have demonstrated the utility of the fabricated nanogaps by measuring a single electron tunneling phenomenon through dodecanethiol-coated Au nanoparticles placed in the fabricated nanogap.

No abstract

A simple method for fabricating single-layer graphene nanoribbons (sGNRs) from double-walled carbon nanotubes (DWNTs) was developed. A sonication treatment was employed to unzip the DWNTs by inducing defects in them through annealing at 500 °C. The unzipped DWNTs yielded double-layered GNRs (dGNRs). Further sonication allowed each dGNR to be unpeeled into two sGNRs. Purification performed using a high-speed centrifuge ensured that more than 99% of the formed GNRs were sGNRs. The changes induced in the electrical properties of the obtained sGNR by the absorption of nanoparticles of planar molecule, naphthalenediimide (NDI), were investigated. The shape of the I-V curve of the sGNRs varied with the number of NDI nanoparticles adsorbed. This was suggestive of the existence of a band gap at the narrow-necked part near the NDI-adsorbing area of the sGNRs.

No abstract

Multilayer graphene was synthesized by overlayer growth of graphene on a monolayer graphene template using a chemical vapor deposition method under a high process temperature of 1300 °C. Structural analysis using Raman spectra revealed that the synthesized multilayer graphene forms highly crystalline graphene layers with a turbostratic stacking structure. Atomic force microscope images indicated that the step edges of the grown graphene layer proceed via lateral growth mode. The electrical transport properties of the synthesized multilayer graphene showed higher conductivity and carrier mobility than those of the monolayer graphene template. The improvement of the electrical transport properties is caused by the turbostratic stacking structure that has the electronic band dispersion similar to that of monolayer graphene. This result means that the synthesis of graphene layers grown on the graphene template is effective to improve the carrier transport properties in multilayer graphene sheets.

I-V characteristics of single electron tunneling from a symmetric and an asymmetric double-barrier tunneling junction ͑DBTJ͒ were examined. A single Au nanoparticle was trapped in nanogap whose size was precisely controlled using a combination of electron beam lithography and molecular ruler technique. Though the symmetric junction showed a monotonic rise with a bias beyond the Coulomb gap voltage, the asymmetric junction showed Coulomb staircases. The capacitance of the junction estimated from the fitting curves using the Coulomb conventional theory was consistent with the capacitance calculated from the observed structure. The authors quantitatively found the correlation between the electrical and structural properties of DBTJ.