Summary:
Researchers in the Physical Sciences Division and Electrical and Computer Engineering Department have developed a new class of graphene nanomaterial that can be tuned by electric fields.
Background:
Graphene nanoribbons (GNRs) are narrow strips of graphene, which is a two-dimensional material composed of a single layer of carbon atoms arranged in a lattice structure. Only a few nanometers wide, GNRs have unique properties that distinguish them from graphene sheets and carbon nanotubes. For example, GNRs can display semiconducting behavior and their electronic properties can be tuned by controlling the precise geometry of the lattice structure. They can also be used in energy storage applications, sensor development, and quantum computing., To realize this potential, there is an unmet need to develop rational methodologies for designing and synthesizing GNRs, which currently rely on top-down design approaches (i.e., reverse engineering) that suffer from inconsistent final geometries.
Innovation:
Researchers in the Physical Sciences Division and Electrical and Computer Engineering Department have developed a new class of GNRs with unique topology induced by an electric stimulus. This bottom-up approach uses monomer precursors to produce chevron-shaped GNRs. Compared to standard top-down approaches, bottom-up design offers numerous advantages. These include atomic-level precision, improved manufacturing control & synthesis, scalability, cost efficiency, and the potential to design materials for novel properties. Importantly, the boundary states between the GNR features can be predicted and physically adjusted by simply altering the direction of the electric field. Given that the boundary state can be switched using these GNRs, they are well-suited for quantum electronics and quantum computing applications. The inventors anticipate that this novel synthesis method could be extended to other substrates, including semiconductors, metals, and dielectrics, and to environments in the liquid and gas phases. Overall, this new class of material has myriad applications for next-generation electrical systems.
Potential Applications:
• Quantum electronics
• Semiconductors
• Energy storage
• Biosensors, environmental sensors
• Dielectrics
Advantages:
• Bottom-up manufacturing and design method
• High surface area to volume ratio
• Switchable boundary state
• Precision and control of design
• Scalability
• Cost-efficiency
Development-To-Date:
Researchers have manufactured and characterized the GNRs.
Reference:
UCLA Case No. 2024-192
Lead Inventor:
Professor Prineha Narang