Researchers have developed a simple technique to produce doped-graphene flakes1 which play an important role in designing novel microelectronic devices and circuits.
A two-dimensional sheet of carbon, called graphene, has many interesting properties of one-dimensional carbon nanotubes. Graphene rolled into carbon nanotubes or formed into ribbons or patterned planes is a good platform for electronics. Studies show that intentional doping is a promising route to exploit its electrical properties. The researchers took an arc chamber fitted with graphite electrodes and used arc discharge to yield graphene flakes under relatively high pressure of hydrogen.
The graphene flakes had 2-4 layers. The researchers claimed that the method would be suitable to dope graphene with boron and nitrogen by carrying out arc discharge in the presence of diborane and pyridine respectively.
The research is significant since electrons move quickly and suffer very little energy dissipation even at room temperature. Making smooth interconnections between separated devices on a chip might be easier with graphene.
The authors of this work are from: Chemistry and Physics of Materials Unit and CSIR Centre of Excellence in Chemistry, Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research, Jakkur, Bangalore and Solid State and Structural Chemistry Unit, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, India
