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Electrochemical Control of Charge Current Flow in Nanoporous Graphene
Author(s) -
Alcón Isaac,
Calogero Gaetano,
Papior Nick,
Brandbyge Mads
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
advanced functional materials
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 6.069
H-Index - 322
eISSN - 1616-3028
pISSN - 1616-301X
DOI - 10.1002/adfm.202104031
Subject(s) - materials science , nanotechnology , graphene , nanoelectronics , nanoporous , spintronics , electronics , fabrication , graphene nanoribbons , quantum dot , carbon nanotube , electrical engineering , physics , medicine , quantum mechanics , ferromagnetism , alternative medicine , engineering , pathology
During the last decade, on‐surface fabricated graphene nanoribbons (GNRs) have gathered enormous attention due to their semiconducting π‐conjugated nature and atomically precise structure. A significant breakthrough is the recent fabrication of nanoporous graphene (NPG) as a 2D array of laterally bonded GNRs. This covalent integration of GNRs could enable complex electronic functionality at the nanoscale; however, for that, it is crucial to externally control the electronic coupling between GNRs within NPGs, which, to date, has not been possible. Using quantum chemical calculations and large‐scale transport simulations, this study demonstrates that such control is enabled in a newly designed quinone‐NPG (q‐NPG) thanks to its GNRs inter‐connections based on electroactive para‐benzoquinone units. As a result, the spatial distribution of injected currents in q‐NPG may be tuned, with sub‐nanometer precision, via the application of external electrostatic gates and electrochemical means. These results thus provide a fundamental strategy to design organic nanodevices with built‐in externally tunable electronics and spintronics, which is key for future applications such as bio‐chemical nanosensing and carbon nanoelectronics.