SELF-ASSEMBLED MONOLAYERS OF ALKANETHIOLS ON GRAPHENE: MOLECULAR STRUCTURE AND CHEMICAL SENSING

Tamamlanmış Proje

TÜBİTAK 3501 Career Development Grant

PROJECT DURATION

Start Date: April 1st, 2015
Completion Date: December 31st, 2017

SUMMARY

High-sensitivity detection of chemical species is important for human health and environmental safety. Graphene features certain physical characteristics that are ideal for the development of advanced chemical sensors. The main challenge in this context is the inertness of graphene toward atoms and molecules in its vicinity. Functionalization of graphene with self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) of organic molecules leads to increased affinity toward particular species.

In this project, we conduct a comparative study involving the formation of SAMs by two types of alkanethiols (1-Octadecanethiol and 1-Dodecanethiol) on graphene grown via chemical vapor deposition, for heavy metal sensing applications. Scanning tunneling microscopy measurements confirm that the alkanethiol molecules can form localized, ordered monolayers on single-layer graphene. Additionally, the use of graphene-based field emission transistors (Gr-FETs) functionalized with alkanethiols toward heavy metal ion detection is tested.

Self-Assembled Monolayers of Alkanethiols on Graphene: Molecular Structure and Chemical Sensing