Graphite and Graphene Fairy Circles : A Bottom-Up Approach for the Formation of Nanocorrals

Phan, T.H. and Van Gorp, H. and Li, Z. and Trung Huynh, T.M. and Fujita, Y. and Verstraete, L. and Eyley, S. and Thielemans, W. and Uji-I, H. and Hirsch, B.E. and Mertens, S.F.L. and Greenwood, J. and Ivasenko, O. and De Feyter, S. (2019) Graphite and Graphene Fairy Circles : A Bottom-Up Approach for the Formation of Nanocorrals. ACS Nano, 13 (5). pp. 5559-5571. ISSN 1936-0851

Text (Mertens_ACSNano_10.1021:acsnano.9b00439_accepted version)
Mertens_ACSNano_10.1021_acsnano.9b00439_accepted_version.pdf - Accepted Version
Available under License Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial.
Download (7MB)

Abstract

A convenient covalent functionalization approach and nanopatterning method of graphite and graphene is developed. In contrast to expectations, electrochemically activated dediazotization of a mixture of two aryl diazonium compounds in aqueous media leads to a spatially inhomogeneous functionalization of graphitic surfaces, creating covalently modified surfaces with quasi-uniform spaced islands of pristine graphite or graphene, coined nanocorrals. Cyclic voltammetry and chronoamperometry approaches are compared. The average diameter (45-130 nm) and surface density (20-125 corrals/μm 2 ) of these nanocorrals are tunable. These chemically modified nanostructured graphitic (CMNG) surfaces are characterized by atomic force microscopy, scanning tunneling microscopy, Raman spectroscopy and microscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Mechanisms leading to the formation of these CMNG surfaces are discussed. The potential of these surfaces to investigate supramolecular self-assembly and on-surface reactions under nanoconfinement conditions is demonstrated. © 2019 American Chemical Society.