Synthesis and Field Effect Transistor Properties of Graphene Nanoribbons with Different Widths

Abstract

Graphene nanoribbons (GNRs) have recently attracted attention because GNRs with a width smaller than 1 0 nm exhibit semiconducting behavior that renders them suitable active materials for electronic devices. Several methods have been reported to produce graphene nanoribbons based on patterning, printing or direct laser writing. However, the uncontrollable character of these methods and/or the harsh conditions in some cases strongly restrict the quality of the resulting graphenes and consequently limit their applications. In contrast, the direct synthesis of GNRs in solution affords high quality GNRs with well-defined structure. In this study, three different GNRs are synthesized from kinked polymer precursors containing benzene, naphthalene and anthracene units, respectively, which are converted into the corresponding polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons by a Scholl reaction (oxidative cyclodehydrgenation), and their field-effect transistor properties are measured and compared with each other.