Zigzag graphene nanoribbons: Flexible and robust transparent conductors

Abstract

We report the effect of bending deformation on the optical and transport properties of zigzag graphene nanoribbons (ZGNRs) induced by the uniaxial strain using the first-principles method combined with non-equilibrium Green's function. The optical properties of ZGNRs in the region of visible light are almost unchanged under the uniaxial strain, whereas an absorption peak occurs at the infrared region for the bent ZGNRs under the transverses strain. The transport properties of ZGNRs under the transverses strain with the bending angle up to 65° remain almost the same as those of the flat one. The transmission coefficients around the Fermi level only slightly decrease when the bending angle further increases to 72.5°. Moreover, ZGNRs under the longitudinal strain show the same transmission conductance around the Fermi level as that of the flat one. The edge states of ZGNRs still behave as excellent ballistic transport channels under bending deformation, which makes them promising flexible and robust transparent conductors.