Abstract
In the present work, we report on development of three-dimensional flexible architectures consisting of an extremely porous three-dimensional Aerographite (AG) backbone decorated by InP micro/nanocrystallites grown by a single step hydride vapor phase epitaxy process. The systematic investigation of the hybrid materials by scanning electron microscopy demonstrates a rather uniform spatial distribution of InP crystallites without agglomeration on the surface of Aerographite microtubular structures. X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy and Raman scattering analysis demonstrate that InP crystallites grown on bare Aerographite are of zincblende structure, while a preliminary functionalization of the Aerographite backbone with Au nanodots promotes the formation of crystalline In2O3 nanowires as well as gold-indium oxide core-shell nanostructures. The electromechanical properties of the hybrid AG-InP composite material are shown to be better than those of previously reported bare AG and AG-GaN networks. Robustness, elastic behavior and excellent translation of the mechanical deformation to variations in electrical conductivity highlight the prospects of AG-InP applications in tactile/strain sensors and other device structures related to flexible electronics.
Highlights
Over the last few years, increasing attention has been paid to the development of flexible nanocomposite hybrid materials based on carbon aerogels decorated by semiconductor nanoparticles as next-generation nanomaterials for electronic, photonic and sensor applications
The distribution of Indium phosphide (InP) microcrystallites along the outer surface of the AG network is relatively uniform, their dimensions vary from a few nanometers to micrometer scales (Fig. 1b)
The selected area electron diffraction (SAED) pattern of an InP microcrystal presented in Fig. S1 in the Supplementary Information demonstrates the single crystalline structure
Summary
Over the last few years, increasing attention has been paid to the development of flexible nanocomposite hybrid materials based on carbon aerogels decorated by semiconductor nanoparticles as next-generation nanomaterials for electronic, photonic and sensor applications. Carbon foams such as graphene aerogels (GA)[1] and Aerographite (AG)[2] represent promising scaffolds for the deposition of various solid-state nanoparticles, resulting in the formation of hybrid nanocomposite materials with flexible three-dimensional (3D) architectures. Flexible materials based on Aerographite decorated by semiconductor nanoparticles exhibit electromechanical characteristics which hint to the possibility to use them in tactile/strain sensors. The advantages of AG-InP hybrid composite material in comparison with a previously reported AG-GaN structure[3] for tactile/strain sensor applications are discussed
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