Regulation of the Electronic Properties of Graphene via Organic Molecular Intercalation

Abstract

Stable, efficient, and flexible regulation of the carrier types and concentrations of graphene is important to its multifunctional application. Here, we have synthesized n- and p-type graphene superlattices which are named as Gr/TBA and Gr/Ac via the electrochemical intercalation of organic tetrabutyl ammonium and acetate, respectively. The crystal structure characterization demonstrated that the interlayer spacing of the high-quality Gr/TBA and Gr/Ac was larger than that of pristine graphene. Hall effect measurements indicated that Gr/TBA and Gr/Ac showed n-type and p-type conductive behaviors, respectively. The carrier concentrations and mobility can be effectively tuned by the intercalated organic molecules. The regulation of the electronic properties of graphene via intercalation should result from the electron transfer between graphene and the corresponding organic molecules. Moreover, we further show that the resulting Gr/TBA and Gr/Ac feature excellent stability (chemicals and air), with no apparent change in carrier concentration. Our work provides a new way to regulate the electronic properties of graphene and broaden the application of graphene in multifunctional electrical devices.