Surface and interfacial interactions of multilayer graphitic structures with local environment

Mazzocco, Riccardo; Robinson, Benjamin J.; Rabot, Caroline; Delamoreanu, A.; Zenasni, A.; Dickinson, James; Boxall, Colin; Kolosov, Oleg

doi:10.1016/j.tsf.2015.04.016

Cited by 4 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 51 publications

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“…Segregation grown graphene was transferred onto the top Au electrode of the QCM liquid handling head resulting in films of 1–2 graphene layers thickness, with continuous coverage over the entire QCM electrode area resulting in maximal sensitivity (more details in SI-1). QCMs were dip-coated in surfactant solution, in the range 0.001–0.1 mg/mL for 10 s, prior to washing with DI water and nitrogen drying. The QCM frequency was measured and then the process repeated.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Formation of Two-Dimensional Micelles on Graphene: Multi-Scale Theoretical and Experimental Study

et al. 2017

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Graphene and related two-dimensional (2D) materials possess outstanding electronic and mechanical properties, chemical stability, and high surface area. However, to realize graphene's potential for a range of applications in materials science and nanotechnology there is a need to understand and control the interaction of graphene with tailored high-performance surfactants designed to facilitate the preparation, manipulation, and functionalization of new graphene systems. Here we report a combined experimental and theoretical study of the surface structure and dynamics on graphene of pyrene-oligoethylene glycol (OEG) -based surfactants, which have previously been shown to disperse carbon nanotubes in water. Molecular self-assembly of the surfactants on graphitic surfaces is experimentally monitored and optimized using a graphene coated quartz crystal microbalance in ambient and vacuum environments. Real-space nanoscale resolution nanomechanical and topographical mapping of submonolayer surfactant coverage, using ultrasonic and atomic force microscopies both in ambient and ultrahigh vacuum, reveals complex, multilength-scale self-assembled structures. Molecular dynamics simulations show that at the nanoscale these structures, on atomically flat graphitic surfaces, are dependent upon the surfactant OEG chain length and are predicted to display a previously unseen class of 2D self-arranged "starfish" micelles (2DSMs). While three-dimensional micelles are well-known for their widespread uses ranging from microreactors to drug-delivery vehicles, these 2DSMs possess the highly desirable and tunable characteristics of high surface affinity coupled with unimpeded mobility, opening up strategies for processing and functionalizing 2D materials.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Formation of Two-Dimensional Micelles on Graphene: Multi-Scale Theoretical and Experimental Study

et al. 2017

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“…A QCM is essentially a balance that could be used to precisely measure ultrasmall masses in real-time, allowing the user to closely follow extremely subtle changes. Over the last few decades, QCMs have been used in a growing number of technologies and research applications, such as surface interaction processes monitors, − piezoelectric immunosensors, − nanoscale characterization tools, − and various specific molecule sensors. − …”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Quartz Crystal Microbalance with Approximately Uniform Sensitivity Distribution

et al. 2018

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The nonuniformity of QCMs' mass sensitivity distribution is a disadvantage to practical applications. Through theoretical calculations, we found that common ring electrode QCMs could obtain approximately uniform sensitivity distribution by carefully selecting the inner and outer diameters and mass loading factor of the electrode. A series of experiments were carried out using 10 MHz ring electrode QCMs with an inner diameter of 2 mm, an outer diameter of 5 mm, and a loading factor R of 0.0044. The experimental results proved that its mass sensitivity distribution is approximately uniform. This special designed ring electrode QCMs is suitable and convenient for highly accurate measurements.

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“…To investigate and mitigate these, one needs matching nanoscale characterisation methods, with the ability to map nanomechanical properties, sensitivity to the stresses in the suspended areas, and the capability to evaluate the quality of the interfacial contact. While commercially available atomic force microscopy (AFM) [7][8][9][10][11] and optical detection methods [12] have been commonly used to study suspended 2DM's, the material-substrate interaction and nanomechanical mapping across the whole NEMS structure remains challenging with limited reports in this area [13][14][15]. One promising technique is contact resonance AFM (CR-AFM) which has been shown to be able to detect subsurface holes under the 2DM's membrane [16][17][18] and to measure the local stiffness of the structure [18,19].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mapping nanoscale dynamic properties of suspended and supported multi-layer graphene membranes via contact resonance and ultrasonic scanning probe microscopies

Mucientes¹,

McNair²,

Peasey³

et al. 2020

Nanotechnology

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Graphene's (GR) remarkable mechanical and electrical properties -such as its Young's modulus, low mass per unit area, natural atomic flatness and electrical conductance -would make it an ideal material for micro and nanoelectromechanical systems (MEMS and NEMS). However, the difficulty of attaching GR to supports, coupled with naturally occurring internal defects in a few layer GR can significantly adversely affect the performance of such devices. Here, we have used a combined contact resonance atomic force microscopy (CR-AFM) and ultrasonic force microscopy (UFM) approach to characterise and map with nanoscale spatial resolution GR membrane properties inaccessible to most conventional scanning probe characterisation techniques. Using a multi-layer GR plate (membrane) suspended over a round hole, we show that this combined approach allows access to the mechanical properties, internal structure and attachment geometry of the membrane providing information about both the supported and suspended regions of the system. We show that UFM allows the precise geometrical position of the supported membrane-substrate contact to be located and provides an indication of the local variation of its quality in the contact areas. At the same time, we show that by mapping the position sensitive frequency and phase response of CR-AFM response, one can reliably quantify the membrane stiffness, and image the defects in the suspended area of the membrane. The phase and amplitude of experimental CR-AFM measurements show excellent agreement with an analytical model accounting for the resonance of the combined CR-AFM probe-membrane system. The combination of UFM and CR-AFM provide a beneficial combination for the investigation of few-layer NEMS systems based on two dimensional materials.

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Surface and interfacial interactions of multilayer graphitic structures with local environment

Cited by 4 publications

References 51 publications

Formation of Two-Dimensional Micelles on Graphene: Multi-Scale Theoretical and Experimental Study

Formation of Two-Dimensional Micelles on Graphene: Multi-Scale Theoretical and Experimental Study

Quartz Crystal Microbalance with Approximately Uniform Sensitivity Distribution

Mapping nanoscale dynamic properties of suspended and supported multi-layer graphene membranes via contact resonance and ultrasonic scanning probe microscopies

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