Highly Stable Graphene‐Based Multilayer Films Immobilized via Covalent Bonds and Their Applications in Organic Field‐Effect Transistors

Abstract

AbstractHighly stable graphene oxide (GO)‐based multilayered ultrathin films can be covalently immobilized on solid supports through a covalent‐based method. It is demonstrated that when (3‐aminopropyl) trimethoxysilane (APTMS), which works as a covalent cross‐linking agent, and GO nanosheets are assembled in an layer‐by‐layer (LBL) manner, GO nanosheets can be covalently grafted on the solid substrate successfully to produce uniform multilayered (APTMS/GO)N films over large‐area surfaces. Compared with conventional noncovalent LBL films constructed by electrostatic interactions, those assembled using this covalent‐based method display much higher stability and reproducibility. Upon thermal annealing‐induced reduction of the covalent (APTMS/GO)N films, the obtained reduced GO (RGO) films, (APTMS/RGO)N, preserve their basic structural characteristics. It is also shown that the as‐prepared covalent (APTMS/RGO)N multilayer films can be used as highly stable source/drain electrodes in organic field‐effect transistors (OFETs). When the number of bilayers of the (APTMS/RGO)N film exceeds 2 (ca. 2.7 nm), the OFETs based on (APTMS/RGO)N electrodes display much better electrical performance than devices based on 40 nm Au electrodes. The covalent protocol proposed may open up new opportunities for the construction of graphene‐based ultrathin films with excellent stability and reproducibility, which are desired for practical applications that require withstanding of multistep post‐production processes.