Step like surface potential on few layered graphene oxide

Abstract

We report surface potential maps of few layered graphene oxide films on different substrates. Kelvin probe force microscopy images reveal that the surface potential decreases in steps with increasing number of layers on the substrate until five layers are reached, where it saturates to a constant value. This intrinsic behavior is smeared out in the presence of ambient humidity where the surface potential is shielded by the presence of a thin water layer on the surface. This effect can be exploited to quickly determine the number of layers of graphene oxide on a substrate.