Graphene‐hBN Hybrid Nanogap for Boosting DNA Nucleobases Recognition Sensitivity

Abstract

The construction of hybrid graphene/hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) nanodevices with applications in sensing could make it possible to tailor hybrid nanogap architectures. Here, we explore the advantages of hybrid graphene/ hexagonal boron nitride nanogaps to improve the sensing of DNA nucleobases compared to graphene nanogaps. To this end, ab-initio calculations are employed to investigate both the electronic properties of different graphene/hBN hybrids and the transport properties of DNA nucleobases located between aforementioned hybrid nanogaps. Our results show that hybrid nanogaps with boron interfaces shift the HOMO toward the Fermi energy leading to a better transmission coefficient in the vicinity of the Fermi energy level. In addition, nanogaps with boron interfaces and narrower graphene nanoroads enhance the sensitivity at and around the Fermi energy level for all nucleobases, especially for small ones.