Method for Controlling Electrical Properties of Single-Layer Graphene Nanoribbons via Adsorbed Planar Molecular Nanoparticles

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.