Heterogeneous, three-dimensional texturing of graphene

Recent Development and Applications of Stretchable SERS Substrates

Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) is a cutting-edge technique for highly sensitive analysis of chemicals and molecules. Traditional SERS-active nanostructures are constructed on rigid substrates where the nanogaps providing hot-spots of Raman signals are fixed, and sample loading is unsatisfactory due to the unconformable attachment of substrates on irregular sample surfaces. A flexible SERS substrate enables conformable sample loading and, thus, highly sensitive Raman detection but still with limited detection capabilities. Stretchable SERS substrates with flexible sample loading structures and controllable hot-spot size provide a new strategy for improving the sample loading efficiency and SERS detection sensitivity. This review summarizes and discusses recent development and applications of the newly conceptual stretchable SERS substrates. A roadmap of the development of SERS substrates is reviewed, and fabrication techniques of stretchable SERS substrates are summarized, followed by an exhibition of the applications of these stretchable SERS substrates. Finally, challenges and perspectives of the stretchable SERS substrates are presented. This review provides an overview of the development of SERS substrates and sheds light on the design, fabrication, and application of stretchable SERS systems.

Advances in field-effect biosensors towards point-of-use

The future of medical diagnostics calls for portable biosensors at the point of care, aiming to improve healthcare by reducing costs, improving access, and increasing quality-what is called the 'triple aim'. Developing point-of-care sensors that provide high sensitivity, detect multiple analytes, and provide real time measurements can expand access to medical diagnostics for all. Field-effect transistor (FET)-based biosensors have several advantages, including ultrahigh sensitivity, label-free and amplification-free detection, reduced cost and complexity, portability, and large-scale multiplexing. They can also be integrated into wearable or implantable devices and provide continuous, real-time monitoring of analytesin vivo, enabling early detection of biomarkers for disease diagnosis and management. This review analyzes advances in the sensitivity, parallelization, and reusability of FET biosensors, benchmarks the limit of detection of the state of the art, and discusses the challenges and opportunities of FET biosensors for future healthcare applications.

Area-Specific, Hierarchical Nanowrinkling of Two-Dimensional Materials

This paper describes an approach to generate hierarchical wrinkles in two-dimensional (2D) electronic materials with spatial control over adjacent wavelengths. A rigid fluoropolymer mold was used to pattern a sacrificial polymer skin layer on monolayer graphene, molybdenum disulfide, and hexagonal boron nitride on prestrained thermoplastic sheets. Strain relief and removal of the polymer layer resulted in 2D-material wrinkles whose wavelengths scaled linearly with the local skin thickness. A second generation of wrinkles could be created on top of the first generation by applying a subsequent cycle of polymer skin coating, strain relief, and polymer removal. This area-specific hierarchical wrinkling is general and will facilitate the engineering of the local properties of various 2D materials and their heterostructures.

Immunoglobulin adsorption and film formation on mechanically wrinkled and crumpled surfaces at submonolayer coverage

Understanding protein adsorption behavior on rough and wrinkled surfaces is vital to applications including biosensors and flexible biomedical devices. Despite this, there is a dearth of study on protein interaction with regularly undulating surface topographies, particularly in regions of negative curvature. Here we report nanoscale adsorption behavior of immunoglobulin M (IgM) and immunoglobulin G (IgG) on wrinkled and crumpled surfaces via atomic force microscopy (AFM). Hydrophilic plasma treated poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) wrinkles with varying dimensions exhibit higher surface coverage of IgM on wrinkle peaks over valleys. Negative curvature in the valleys is determined to reduce protein surface coverage based both on an increase in geometric hindrance on concave surfaces, and reduced binding energy as calculated in coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulations. The smaller IgG molecule in contrast shows no observable effects on coverage from this degree of curvature. The same wrinkles with an overlayer of monolayer graphene show hydrophobic spreading and network formation, and inhomogeneous coverage across wrinkle peaks and valleys attributed to filament wetting and drying effects in the valleys. Additionally, adsorption onto uniaxial buckle delaminated graphene shows that when wrinkle features are on the length scale of the protein diameter, hydrophobic deformation and spreading do not occur and both IgM and IgG molecules retain their dimensions. These results demonstrate that undulating wrinkled surfaces characteristic of flexible substrates can have significant effects on protein surface distribution with potential implications for design of materials for biological applications.

Ultraefficient Electrocatalytic Hydrogen Evolution from Strain-Engineered, Multilayer MoS2

This paper reports an approach to repurpose low-cost, bulk multilayer MoS₂ for development of ultraefficient hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) catalysts over large areas (>cm²). We create working electrodes for use in HER by dry transfer of MoS₂ nano- and microflakes to gold thin films deposited on prestrained thermoplastic substrates. By relieving the prestrain at a macroscopic scale, a tunable level of tensile strain is developed in the MoS₂ and consequently results in a local phase transition as a result of spontaneously formed surface wrinkles. Using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, we verified that electrochemical activation of the strained MoS₂ lowered the charge transfer resistance within the materials system, achieving HER activity comparable to platinum (Pt). Raman and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy show that desulfurization in the multilayer MoS₂ was promoted by the phase transition; the combined effect of desulfurization and the lower charge resistance induced superior HER performance.

Structural Integrity Preserving and Residue-Free Transfer of Large-Area Wrinkled Graphene onto Polymeric Substrates

Wrinkled graphene offers many advantageous features resulting from modifying the structural and physical properties as well as the chemical reactivity of graphene. However, its inadequate transferability to other substrates has limited its usability. This paper reports a roll-based clean transfer approach that enables the damage-free and contamination-free transfer of large-area wrinkled graphene onto polymeric substrates without compromising the integrity of wrinkle structures. The method implements the simultaneous imidazole-assisted etching and doping of chemical vapor-deposited graphene to fabricate multilayer graphene on a thermoplastic polystyrene (PS) substrate coated with a water-soluble poly(4-styrenesulfonic acid) (PSS) sacrificial layer via a roll-based transfer process. The compliant PSS layer affords the conformal contact between the PS substrate and graphene during the wrinkle formation process, enabling the controllable fabrication of graphene wrinkle structures on a large area. The water-soluble properties of PSS simplify the typically difficult separation of wrinkled graphene from the PS substrate after its transfer onto a target substrate. This improves the transferability of wrinkled graphene, rendering the transfer process solvent-free and residue-free. This work demonstrates the feasibility of the formulated method by transferring centimeter-scale wrinkled graphene onto currently used transparent flexible substrates (i.e., polyethylene terephthalate and polydimethylsiloxane). The results indicate that the transferred wrinkled graphene possesses the desirable combination of superior stretchability, optical transmittance, sheet resistance, and electromechanical stability, rendering its suitable application to transparent flexible and stretchable electronics.

Soft Bioelectronics Based on Nanomaterials

Recent advances in nanostructured materials and unconventional device designs have transformed the bioelectronics from a rigid and bulky form into a soft and ultrathin form and brought enormous advantages to the bioelectronics. For example, mechanical deformability of the soft bioelectronics and thus its conformal contact onto soft curved organs such as brain, heart, and skin have allowed researchers to measure high-quality biosignals, deliver real-time feedback treatments, and lower long-term side-effects in vivo. Here, we review various materials, fabrication methods, and device strategies for flexible and stretchable electronics, especially focusing on soft biointegrated electronics using nanomaterials and their composites. First, we summarize top-down material processing and bottom-up synthesis methods of various nanomaterials. Next, we discuss state-of-the-art technologies for intrinsically stretchable nanocomposites composed of nanostructured materials incorporated in elastomers or hydrogels. We also briefly discuss unconventional device design strategies for soft bioelectronics. Then individual device components for soft bioelectronics, such as biosensing, data storage, display, therapeutic stimulation, and power supply devices, are introduced. Afterward, representative application examples of the soft bioelectronics are described. A brief summary with a discussion on remaining challenges concludes the review.

Effects of Layering and Supporting Substrate on Liquid Slip at the Single-Layer Graphene Interface

Understanding modulation of liquid molecule slippage along graphene surfaces is crucial for many promising applications of two-dimensional materials, such as in sensors, nanofluidic devices, and biological systems. Here, we use force measurements by atomic force microscopy (AFM) to directly measure hydrodynamic, solvation, and frictional forces along the graphene plane in seven liquids. The results show that the greater slip lengths correlate with the interfacial ordering of the liquid molecules, which suggests that the ordering of the liquid forming multiple layers promotes slip. This phenomenon appears to be more relevant than solely the wetting behavior of graphene or the solid-liquid interaction energy, as traditionally assumed. Furthermore, the slip boundary condition of the liquids along the graphene plane is sensitive to the substrate underneath graphene, indicating that the underlying substrate affects graphene's interaction with the liquid molecules. Because interfacial slip can have prominent consequences on the pressure drop, on electrical and diffusive transport through nanochannels, and on lubrication, this work can inspire innovation in many applications through the modulation of the substrate underneath graphene and of the interfacial ordering of the liquid.

Large scale self-assembly of plasmonic nanoparticles on deformed graphene templates

Hierarchical heterostructures of two-dimensional (2D) nanomaterials are versatile platforms for nanoscale optoelectronics. Further coupling of these 2D materials with plasmonic nanostructures, especially in non-close-packed morphologies, imparts new metastructural properties such as increased photosensitivity as well as spectral selectivity and range. However, the integration of plasmonic nanoparticles with 2D materials has largely been limited to lithographic patterning and/or undefined deposition of metallic structures. Here we show that colloidally synthesized zero-dimensional (0D) gold nanoparticles of various sizes can be deterministically self-assembled in highly-ordered, anisotropic, non-close-packed, multi-scale morphologies with templates designed from instability-driven, deformed 2D nanomaterials. The anisotropic plasmonic coupling of the particle arrays exhibits emergent polarization-dependent absorbance in the visible to near-IR regions. Additionally, controllable metasurface arrays of nanoparticles by functionalization with varying polymer brushes modulate the plasmonic coupling between polarization dependent and independent assemblies. This self-assembly method shows potential for bottom-up nanomanufacturing of diverse optoelectronic components and can potentially be adapted to a wide array of nanoscale 0D, 1D, and 2D materials.

Fundamental Insights into Graphene Strain Sensing

Graphene has been studied extensively for use in flexible electronics as ultrasensitive and wide-area strain sensors. Many sensors demonstrated so far rely on graphene networks, such that the spatial resolution is compromised, and they are unable to measure strain variations on a fine scale such as those resulting from substrate/interface failure. In this study, mono-/few-layer graphene are demonstrated to be good candidates for strain sensing with high spatial resolution to evaluate features <100 nm. The fundamentals of strain sensing-interaction with the target-have been discussed to shed light on the sensitivity and durability for future sensor fabrication. The proof-of-concept strain sensors have been shown to be able to monitor different states, e.g., the initiation and evolution, of crazes. The analysis also leads to the evaluation of interfacial energy and realization of high local strain in graphene that is applicable for other 2D materials for ultrasensitive strain sensing and bandgap opening applications.

Heterogeneous deformation of two-dimensional materials for emerging functionalities

Atomically thin 2D materials exhibit strong intralayer covalent bonding and weak interlayer van der Waals interactions, offering unique high in-plane strength and out-of-plane flexibility. While atom-thick nature of 2D materials may cause uncontrolled intrinsic/extrinsic deformation in multiple length scales, it also provides new opportunities for exploring coupling between heterogeneous deformations and emerging functionalities in controllable and scalable ways for electronic, optical, and optoelectronic applications. In this review, we discuss (i) the mechanical characteristics of 2D materials, (ii) uncontrolled inherent deformation and extrinsic heterogeneity present in 2D materials, (iii) experimental strategies for controlled heterogeneous deformation of 2D materials, (iv) 3D structure-induced novel functionalities via crumple/wrinkle structure or kirigami structures, and (v) heterogeneous strain-induced emerging functionalities in exciton and phase engineering. Overall, heterogeneous deformation offers unique advantages for 2D materials research by enabling spatial tunability of 2D materials' interactions with photons, electrons, and molecules in a programmable and controlled manner.

Tunable Surface Wrinkling by a Bio-Inspired Polyamine Anion Coacervation Process that Mediates the Assembly of Polyoxometalate Nanoclusters

A bio-inspired method is used to render controlled wrinkling surface patterns on supramolecular architectures assembled from polyoxometalate (POM) clusters. It involves a polyamine-multivalent anion interaction generating positively charged coacervates, which while dictating the assembly of POM into spherical structures further facilitate an interesting surface morphogenesis with wrinkling patterns. This spontaneous surface wrinkling depends on the type of multivalent anion and the pH. As the polyamine-anion interaction becomes stronger, the wrinkles turn denser with lesser depth, which eventually undergoes post-buckling to engender a complex surface pattern. Interestingly, the order of influence exerted by different anions on the morphology follows the Hofmeister series. Moreover, the mild synthesis conditions keep the functional POM units dispersed in the sphere with a structural transformability to their lacunary form.

Facile architecture of highly effective nanofibrous membrane adsorbent via electrospun followed by hydrothermal carbonization for potential application in dye removal from water

Rapid removal of toxic dye pollutants in water by conventional materials is ineffective and expensive that warrants the necessity for the architecture of hybrid nanofibrous membrane through layer by layer deposition using electrospinning method. In order to achieve this, here we demonstrated the electrospun fabrication of graphene/ferrocene intercalated polyacrylonitrile nanofibrous (GFPN) membrane through hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) method and studied its potential adsorption properties for the removal of environmental pollutants. An aqueous dispersion of graphene/ferrocene (1 mg/mL) stabilized by the polymeric backbone was prepared by the solvent homogenization method and electrospun to yield nanofibrous membrane and further characterized by several analytical and spectroscopic techniques. Raman and XPS investigations corroborated the intercalation of graphene/Fe decorated onto the nanofibrous network. Adsorption experiments found that the GFPN membrane achieved more than 90% removal of anionic Congo red (CR) dye within 30 min in the aqueous phase irrespective of the concentration and takes some additional time for attaining the equilibrium. The longevity and stability of the membrane was studied by conducting successive adsorption-desorption cycles for the regeneration of its adsorption properties. The de-coloration mechanism was comprehensively investigated through the mathematical approaches using the kinetic and intraparticle diffusion studies and confirmed with the experimental findings through IR and XPS spectroscopic techniques. In a nutshell, this work focuses on the fabrication of hybrid nanofibrous membrane and studied its adsorption properties through varying concentrations of dye (20 to 150 mg/L). Moreover, this work extensively explored the mechanism associated with the adsorption process and specifically emphasize the existence of combined phenomena during the process, i.e., anion-cation interactions, hydrogen bonding, and successive stages of intraparticle diffusion through the comparative elucidation of both theoretical and experimental approaches.

Ultrasensitive detection of nucleic acids using deformed graphene channel field effect biosensors

Field-effect transistor (FET)-based biosensors allow label-free detection of biomolecules by measuring their intrinsic charges. The detection limit of these sensors is determined by the Debye screening of the charges from counter ions in solutions. Here, we use FETs with a deformed monolayer graphene channel for the detection of nucleic acids. These devices with even millimeter scale channels show an ultra-high sensitivity detection in buffer and human serum sample down to 600 zM and 20 aM, respectively, which are ∼18 and ∼600 nucleic acid molecules. Computational simulations reveal that the nanoscale deformations can form 'electrical hot spots' in the sensing channel which reduce the charge screening at the concave regions. Moreover, the deformed graphene could exhibit a band-gap, allowing an exponential change in the source-drain current from small numbers of charges. Collectively, these phenomena allow for ultrasensitive electronic biomolecular detection in millimeter scale structures.

Ultrasensitive detection of nucleic acids using deformed graphene channel field effect biosensors

Field-effect transistor (FET)-based biosensors allow label-free detection of biomolecules by measuring their intrinsic charges. The detection limit of these sensors is determined by the Debye screening of the charges from counter ions in solutions. Here, we use FETs with a deformed monolayer graphene channel for the detection of nucleic acids. These devices with even millimeter scale channels show an ultra-high sensitivity detection in buffer and human serum sample down to 600 zM and 20 aM, respectively, which are ∼18 and ∼600 nucleic acid molecules. Computational simulations reveal that the nanoscale deformations can form 'electrical hot spots' in the sensing channel which reduce the charge screening at the concave regions. Moreover, the deformed graphene could exhibit a band-gap, allowing an exponential change in the source-drain current from small numbers of charges. Collectively, these phenomena allow for ultrasensitive electronic biomolecular detection in millimeter scale structures.

Material-Dependent Evolution of Mechanical Folding Instabilities in Two-Dimensional Atomic Membranes

Inducing and controlling three-dimensional deformations in monolayer two-dimensional materials is important for applications from stretchable electronics to origami nanoelectromechanical systems. For these applications, it is critical to understand how the properties of different materials influence the morphologies of two-dimensional atomic membranes under mechanical loading. Here, we systematically investigate the evolution of mechanical folding instabilities in uniaxially compressed monolayer graphene and MoS₂ on a soft polydimethylsiloxane substrate. We examine the morphology of the compressed membranes using atomic force microscopy for compression from 0 to 33%. We find the membranes display roughly evenly spaced folds and observe two distinct stress release mechanisms under increasing compression. At low compression, the membranes delaminate to generate new folds. At higher compression, the membranes slip over the surface to enlarge existing folds. We observe a material-dependent transition between these two behaviors at a critical fold spacing of 1000 ± 250 nm for graphene and 550 ± 20 nm for MoS₂. We establish a simple shear-lag model which attributes the transition to a competition between static friction and adhesion and gives the maximum interfacial static friction on polydimethylsiloxane of 3.8 ± 0.8 MPa for graphene and 7.7 ± 2.5 MPa for MoS₂. Furthermore, in graphene, we observe an additional transition from standing folds to fallen folds at 8.5 ± 2.3 nm fold height. These results provide a framework to control the nanoscale fold structure of monolayer atomic membranes, which is a critical step in deterministically designing stretchable or foldable nanosystems based on two-dimensional materials.

Mechanochemical engineering of 2D materials for multiscale biointerfaces

Atomically thin nanomaterials represent a unique paradigm for interfacing with biological systems due to their mechanical flexibility, exceptional interfacial area, and ease of chemical functionalization. In particular, these two-dimensional (2D) materials are able to bend, curve, and fold in response to biologically-generated forces or other external stimuli. Such origami-like folding of 2D materials into wrinkled or crumpled topographies allows them to withstand large deformations by accordion-like unfolding, with implications for stretchable and shape-changing devices. Here, we review how mechanically manipulated 2D materials can interact with biological systems across a multitude of length scales. We focus on recent work where wrinkling, crumpling, or bending of 2D materials permits new chemical and material properties, with four case studies: (i) programming biomolecular reactivity and enhanced sensing, (ii) directed adhesion and encapsulation of bacteria or mammalian cells, (iii) stimuli-responsive actuators and soft robotics, and (iv) stretchable barrier technologies and wearable human-scale sensors. Finally, we consider future directions for manufacturing, materials and systems integration, as well as biocompatibility. Taken together, these 2D materials may enable new avenues for ultrasensitive molecular detection, biomaterial scaffolds, soft machines, and wearable technologies.

Ultraviolet to Mid-Infrared Emissivity Control by Mechanically Reconfigurable Graphene

Spectral emissivity control is critical for optical and thermal management in the ambient environment because solar irradiance and atmospheric transmissions occur at distinct wavelength regions. For instance, selective emitters with low emissivity in the solar spectrum but high emissivity in the mid-infrared can lead to significant radiative cooling. Ambient variations require not only spectral control but also a mechanism to adjust the emissivity. However, most selective emitters are fixed to specific wavelength ranges and lack dynamic control mechanisms. Here we show ultraviolet to mid-infrared emissivity control by mechanically reconfiguring graphene, in which stretching and releasing induce dynamic topographic changes. We fabricate crumpled graphene with pitches ranging from 40 nm to 10 μm using deformable substrates. Our measurements and computations show that 140 nm-pitch crumpled graphene offers ultraviolet emissivity control in 200-300 nm wavelengths whereas 10 μm-pitch crumpled graphene offers mid-infrared emissivity control in 7-19 μm wavelengths. Significant emissivity changes arise from interference induced by the periodic topography and selective transmissivity reductions. Dynamic stretching and releasing of 140 nm and 10 μm pitch crumpled graphene show reversible emissivity peak changes at 250 nm and at 9.9 μm wavelengths, respectively. This work demonstrates the unique potential of crumpled graphene as a reconfigurable optical and thermal management platform.

Designing Hierarchical Nanostructures from Conformable and Deformable Thin Materials

This Perspective focuses on the design of hierarchical structures in deformable thin materials by patterning mechanical instabilities. Fabrication of three-dimensional (3D) structures with multiple length scales-starting at the nanoscale-can result in on-demand surface functionalities from the modification of the mechanical, chemical, and optical properties of materials. Conventional top-down lithography, however, cannot achieve 3D patterns over large areas (>cm²). In contrast, a bottom-up approach based on controlling strain in layered nanomaterials conformally coated on polymeric substrates can produce multiscale structures in parallel. In-plane and out-of-plane structural hierarchies formed by conformal buckling show unique structure-function relationships. Programmable hierarchical surfaces offer prospects to tune global- and local-level characteristics of nanomaterials that will positively impact applications in nanomechanics, nanoelectronics, and nanophotonics.

Slippery and Sticky Graphene in Water

Understanding modulation of water molecule slippage along graphene surfaces is crucial for many promising applications of two-dimensional materials. Here, we examine normal and shear forces on supported single-layer graphene using atomic force microscopy and find that the electrolyte composition affects the molecular slippage of nanometer thick films of aqueous electrolytes along the graphene surface. In light of the shear-assisted thermally activated theory, water molecules along the graphene plane are very mobile when subjected to shear. However, upon addition of an electrolyte, the cations can make water stick to graphene, while ion-specific and concentration effects are present. Recognizing the tribological and tribochemical utility of graphene, we also evaluate the impact of this behavior on its frictional response in the presence of water. It appears that the addition of an electrolyte to pure water causes a reduction of the thermal activation energy and of the shear-activation length at several concentrations, both results conversely affecting the friction force. Further, this work can inspire innovation in research areas where changes of the molecular slippage through the modulation of the doping characteristics of graphene in liquid environment can be of use, including molecular sensing, lubrication, and energy storage.

Engineering Surface Patterns with Shape Memory Polymers: Multiple Design Dimensions for Diverse and Hierarchical Structures

Deterministic design of surface patterns has seen a surge of interests because of their wide applications in flexible and stretchable electronics, microfluidics, and optical devices. Recently, instability of bilayer systems has been extensively utilized by which micro-/nano-patterns of a film can be easily achieved through macroscopically deforming the underlying substrate. For a bilayer system with traditional thermostable substrates, the pattern morphology is only determined by initial strain mismatch of the two layers, and the realization of localized patterns appears to be particularly challenging because of the difficulties associated with manipulating inhomogeneous deformations. In this work, we exploit cross-linked polyethylene ( cPE), a shape memory polymer (SMP), as the flexible substrate for building micro-/nano-structures of sputtered gold films. We find that the shape memory effect can offer new dimensions for designing diverse and hierarchical surface structures by harnessing film thickness orheating time and by globally or locally controlling the thermal field. By combining those strategies, we further demonstrate versatile hierarchical, superimposed, and local surface patterns based on this cPE/gold (Au) system. Piezoresistive pressure sensors are assembled with the obtained patterned surface, which have high sensitivity, operational range, and cyclic stability. These results highlight the unique advantages of SMPs for building arbitrary surface patterns.

Uniaxially crumpled graphene as a platform for guided myotube formation

Graphene, owing to its inherent chemical inertness, biocompatibility, and mechanical flexibility, has great potential in guiding cell behaviors such as adhesion and differentiation. However, due to the two-dimensional (2D) nature of graphene, the microfabrication of graphene into micro/nanoscale patterns has been widely adopted for guiding cellular assembly. In this study, we report crumpled graphene, i.e., monolithically defined graphene with a nanoscale wavy surface texture, as a tissue engineering platform that can efficiently promote aligned C2C12 mouse myoblast cell differentiation. We imparted out-of-plane, nanoscale crumpled morphologies to flat graphene via compressive strain-induced deformation. When C2C12 mouse myoblast cells were seeded on the uniaxially crumpled graphene, not only were the alignment and elongation promoted at a single-cell level but also the differentiation and maturation of myotubes were enhanced compared to that on flat graphene. These results demonstrate the utility of the crumpled graphene platform for tissue engineering and regenerative medicine for skeletal muscle tissues.

Multifunctionality and Mechanical Actuation of 2D Materials for Skin-Mimicking Capabilities

Human skin serves as a multifunctional organ with remarkable properties, such as sensation, protection, regulation, and mechanical stretchability. The mimicry of skin's multifunctionalities via various nanomaterials has become an emerging topic. 2D materials have attracted much interest in the field of skin mimicry due to unique physiochemical properties. Herein, recent developments of using various 2D materials to mimic skin's sensing, protecting, and regulating capabilities are summarized. Next, to endow high stretchability to 2D materials, the approaches for fabrication of stretchable bilayer structures by integrating higher dimensional 2D materials onto soft elastomeric substrates are introduced. Accordion-like 2D material structures can elongate with elastomers and undergo programmed folding/unfolding processes to mimic skin's stretchability. That stretchable 2D material devices can achieve effective tactile sensing and protecting capabilities under large deformation is then highlighted. Finally, multiple key directions and existing challenges for future development are discussed.

Three-dimensional Architecture Enabled by Strained Two-dimensional Material Heterojunction

Engineering the structure of materials endows them with novel physical properties across a wide range of length scales. With high in-plane stiffness and strength, but low flexural rigidity, two-dimensional (2D) materials are excellent building blocks for nanostructure engineering. They can be easily bent and folded to build three-dimensional (3D) architectures. Taking advantage of the large lattice mismatch between the constituents, we demonstrate a 3D heterogeneous architecture combining a basal Bi₂Se₃ nanoplate and wavelike Bi₂Te₃ edges buckling up and down forming periodic ripples. Unlike 2D heterostructures directly grown on substrates, the solution-based synthesis allows the heterostructures to be free from substrate influence during the formation process. The balance between bending and in-plane strain energies gives rise to controllable rippling of the material. Our experimental results show clear evidence that the wavelengths and amplitudes of the ripples are dependent on both the widths and thicknesses of the rippled material, matching well with continuum mechanics analysis. The rippled Bi₂Se₃/Bi₂Te₃ heterojunction broadens the horizon for the application of 2D materials heterojunction and the design and fabrication of 3D architectures based on them, which could provide a platform to enable nanoscale structure generation and associated photonic/electronic properties manipulation for optoelectronic and electromechanic applications.

Mechanically reconfigurable architectured graphene for tunable plasmonic resonances

Graphene nanostructures with complex geometries have been widely explored for plasmonic applications, as their plasmonic resonances exhibit high spatial confinement and gate tunability. However, edge effects in graphene and the narrow range over which plasmonic resonances can be tuned have limited the use of graphene in optical and optoelectronic applications. Here we present a novel approach to achieve mechanically reconfigurable and strongly resonant plasmonic structures based on crumpled graphene. Our calculations show that mechanical reconfiguration of crumpled graphene structures enables broad spectral tunability for plasmonic resonances from mid- to near-infrared, acting as a new tuning knob combined with conventional electrostatic gating. Furthermore, a continuous sheet of crumpled graphene shows strong confinement of plasmons, with a high near-field intensity enhancement of ~1 × 10⁴. Finally, decay rates for a dipole emitter are significantly enhanced in the proximity of finite-area biaxially crumpled graphene flakes. Our findings indicate that crumpled graphene provides a platform to engineer graphene-based plasmonics through broadband manipulation of strong plasmonic resonances.

Adsorbable and self-supported 3D AgNPs/G@Ni foam as cut-and-paste highly-sensitive SERS substrates for rapid in situ detection of residuum

We have proposed a synthetic approach to produce self-supported and bendable surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS)-based 3D chemical sensors with high adsorptivity. Such 3D substrates consist of foam-like graphene macrostructures obtained by template-directed chemical vapour deposition on nickel foams (interconnected 3D scaffold of nickel) and uniform and high-density Ag nanoparticles wrapping around the foam graphene, via seed-mediated in situ growth process. Such 3D AgNPs/G@Ni foam substrates show high-quality SERS performance in terms of Raman signal reproducibility and sensitivity for the analyte, resulting from the high density and homogeneity of "hot spots" on AgNPs/G@Ni foam, multiple cascaded amplication (localized surface plasmon mode and optical standing waves or optical refraction) of incident laser to the 3D foam structures and powerful support from nickel scaffold. Moreover, in virtue of the high adsorptivity and sensitivity of AgNPs/G@Ni foam, the low-concentration crystal violet molecules can be easily traced in the curvilinear fish surface, by simply swabbing the surface to achieve molecules concentration effect in the practical applicability. This work shows promising potential in developing the applications of SERS in the foodstuffs processing and security field.

Preparing local strain patterns in graphene by atomic force microscope based indentation

Patterning graphene into various mesoscopic devices such as nanoribbons, quantum dots, etc. by lithographic techniques has enabled the guiding and manipulation of graphene’s Dirac-type charge carriers. Graphene, with well-defined strain patterns, holds promise of similarly rich physics while avoiding the problems created by the hard to control edge configuration of lithographically prepared devices. To engineer the properties of graphene via mechanical deformation, versatile new techniques are needed to pattern strain profiles in a controlled manner. Here we present a process by which strain can be created in substrate supported graphene layers. Our atomic force microscope-based technique opens up new possibilities in tailoring the properties of graphene using mechanical strain.

From Flatland to Spaceland: Higher Dimensional Patterning with Two-Dimensional Materials

The creation of three-dimensional (3D) structures from two-dimensional (2D) nanomaterial building blocks enables novel chemical, mechanical or physical functionalities that cannot be realized with planar thin films or in bulk materials. Here, we review the use of emerging 2D materials to create complex out-of-plane surface topographies and 3D material architectures. We focus on recent approaches that yield periodic textures or patterns, and present four techniques as case studies: (i) wrinkling and crumpling of planar sheets, (ii) encapsulation by crumpled nanosheet shells, (iii) origami folding and kirigami cutting to create programmed curvature, and (iv) 3D printing of 2D material suspensions. Work to date in this field has primarily used graphene and graphene oxide as the 2D building blocks, and we consider how these unconventional approaches may be extended to alternative 2D materials and their heterostructures. Taken together, these emerging patterning and texturing techniques represent an intriguing alternative to conventional materials synthesis and processing methods, and are expected to contribute to the development of new composites, stretchable electronics, energy storage devices, chemical barriers, and biomaterials.

A stretchable crumpled graphene photodetector with plasmonically enhanced photoresponsivity

Graphene has been widely explored for flexible, high-performance photodetectors due to its exceptional mechanical strength, broadband absorption, and high carrier mobility. However, the low stretchability and limited photoabsorption of graphene have restricted its applications in flexible and highly sensitive photodetection systems. Various hybrid systems based on photonic or plasmonic nanostructures have been introduced to improve the limited photoresponsivity of graphene photodetectors. In most cases, the hybrid systems succeeded in the enhancement of photoresponsivity, but showed limited mechanical stretchability. Here, we demonstrate a stretchable photodetector based on a crumpled graphene-gold nanoparticle (AuNP) hybrid structure with ∼1200% enhanced photoresponsivity, compared to a conventional flat graphene-only photodetector, and exceptional mechanical stretchability up to a 200% tensile strain. We achieve plasmonically enhanced photoresponsivity by integrating AuNPs with graphene. By crumpling the hybrid structure, we realize mechanical stretchability and further enhancement of the optical absorption by densification. We also demonstrate that our highly stretchable photodetector with enhanced photoresponsivity can be integrated on a contact lens and a spring structure. We believe that our stretchable, high performance graphene photodetector can find broad applications for conformable and flexible optical sensors and dynamic mechanical strain sensors.

Hierarchical, Dual-Scale Structures of Atomically Thin MoS2 for Tunable Wetting

Molybdenum disulfide (MoS₂), a well-known solid lubricant for low friction surface coatings, has recently drawn attention as an analogue two-dimensional (2D) material beyond graphene. When patterned to produce vertically grown, nanoflower-structures, MoS₂ shows promise as a functional material for hydrogen evolution catalysis systems, electrodes for alkali metal-ion batteries, and field-emission arrays. Whereas the wettability of graphene has been substantially investigated, that of MoS₂ structures, especially nanoflowers, has remained relatively unexplored despite MoS₂ nanoflower's potential in future applications. Here, we demonstrate that the wettability of MoS₂ can be controlled by multiscale modulation of surface roughness through (1) tuning of the nanoflower structures by chemical vapor deposition synthesis and (2) tuning of microscale topography via mechanical strain. This multiscale modulation offers broadened tunability (80-155°) compared to single-scale tuning (90-130°). In addition, surface adhesion, determined from contact angle hysteresis (CAH), can also be tuned by multiscale surface roughness modulation, where the CAH is changed in range of 20-40°. Finally, the wettability of crumpled MoS₂ nanoflowers can be dynamically and reversibly controlled through applied strain (∼115-150° with 0-200% strain), and remains robust over 1000 strain cycles. These studies on the tunable wettability of MoS₂ will contribute to future MoS₂-based applications, such as tunable wettability coatings for desalination and hydrogen evolution.

Multiscale, Hierarchical Patterning of Graphene by Conformal Wrinkling

This paper describes how delamination-free, hierarchical patterning of graphene can be achieved on prestrained thermoplastic sheets by surface wrinkling. Conformal contact between graphene and the substrate during strain relief was maintained by the presence of a soft skin layer, resulting in the uniform patterning of three-dimensional wrinkles over large areas (>cm²). The graphene wrinkle wavelength was tuned from the microscale to the nanoscale by controlling the thickness of the skin layer with 1 nm accuracy to realize a degree of control not possible by crumpling, which relies on delamination. Hierarchical patterning of the skin layers with varying thicknesses enabled multiscale graphene wrinkles with predetermined orientations to be formed. Significantly, hierarchical graphene wrinkles exhibited tunable mechanical stiffness at the nanoscale without compromising the macroscale electrical conductivity.

Tunable Optical Transparency in Self-Assembled Three-Dimensional Polyhedral Graphene Oxide

The origami-like self-folding process is an intellectually stimulating technique for realizing three-dimensional (3D) polyhedral free-standing graphene oxide (GO) structures. This technique allows for easy control of size, shape, and thickness of GO membranes, which in turn permits fabrication of free-standing 3D microscale polyhedral GO structures. Unlike 2D GO sheets, the 3D polyhedral free-standing GO shows a distinct optical switching behavior, resulting from a combination of the geometrical effect of the 3D hollow structure and the water-permeable multilayered GO membrane that affects the optical paths.

Interfacial Effects on Nanoscale Wrinkling in Gold-Covered Polystyrene

Nanoscale wrinkling on the surfaces of polymer-based materials can be precisely controlled by depositing thin metal films of varying thicknesses. The deposition of these films fundamentally alters the mechanical properties of the substrates in ways that are not simply described using traditional continuum mechanical frameworks. In particular, we find, by modeling within a finite element analysis approach, that the very act of depositing a metal film may alter the Young's modulus of the polymer substrate to depths of up to a few hundred nanometers, creating a modified interfacial skin layer. We find that simulated wrinkle patterns reproduce the experimentally observed features only when the modulus of this surface layer varies by more than ∼500 nm and is described using a sigmoidal gradient multiplier.

Boron-Filled Hybrid Carbon Nanotubes

A unique nanoheterostructure, a boron-filled hybrid carbon nanotube (BHCNT), has been synthesized using a one-step chemical vapor deposition process. The BHCNTs can be considered to be a novel form of boron carbide consisting of boron doped, distorted multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) encapsulating boron nanowires. These MWCNTs were found to be insulating in spite of their graphitic layered outer structures. While conventional MWCNTs have great axial strength, they have weak radial compressive strength, and do not bond well to one another or to other materials. In contrast, BHCNTs are shown to be up to 31% stiffer and 233% stronger than conventional MWCNTs in radial compression and have excellent mechanical properties at elevated temperatures. The corrugated surface of BHCNTs enables them to bond easily to themselves and other materials, in contrast to carbon nanotubes (CNTs). BHCNTs can, therefore, be used to make nanocomposites, nanopaper sheets, and bundles that are stronger than those made with CNTs.

Electron and phonon properties and gas storage in carbon honeycombs

A new kind of three-dimensional carbon allotrope, termed carbon honeycomb (CHC), has recently been synthesized [PRL 116, 055501 (2016)]. Based on the experimental results, a family of graphene networks has been constructed, and their electronic and phonon properties are studied by various theoretical approaches. All networks are porous metals with two types of electron transport channels along the honeycomb axis and they are isolated from each other: one type of channel originates from the orbital interactions of the carbon zigzag chains and is topologically protected, while the other type of channel is from the straight lines of the carbon atoms that link the zigzag chains and is topologically trivial. The velocity of the electrons can reach ∼10(6) m s(-1). Phonon transport in these allotropes is strongly anisotropic, and the thermal conductivities can be very low when compared with graphite by at least a factor of 15. Our calculations further indicate that these porous carbon networks possess high storage capacity for gaseous atoms and molecules in agreement with the experiments.

Graphene Oxides in Water: Correlating Morphology and Surface Chemistry with Aggregation Behavior

Aqueous aggregation processes can significantly impact function, effective toxicity, environmental transport, and ultimate fate of advanced nanoscale materials, including graphene and graphene oxide (GO). In this work, we have synthesized flat graphene oxide (GO) and five physically crumpled GOs (CGO, with different degrees of thermal reduction, and thus oxygen functionality) using an aerosol method, and characterized the evolution of surface chemistry and morphology using a suite of spectroscopic (UV-vis, FTIR, XPS) and microscopic (AFM, SEM, and TEM) techniques. For each of these materials, critical coagulation concentrations (CCC) were determined for NaCl, CaCl2, and MgCl2 electrolytes. The CCCs were correlated with material ζ-potentials (R(2) = 0.94-0.99), which were observed to be mathematically consistent with classic DLVO theory. We further correlated CCC values with CGO chemical properties including C/O ratios, carboxyl group concentrations, and C-C fractions. For all cases, edge-based carboxyl functional groups are highly correlated to observed CCC values (R(2) = 0.89-0.95). Observations support the deprotonation of carboxyl groups with low acid dissociation constants (pKa) as the main contributors to ζ-potentials and thus material aqueous stability. We also observe CCC values to significantly increase (by 18-80%) when GO is physically crumpled as CGO. Taken together, the findings from both physical and chemical analyses clearly indicate that both GO shape and surface functionality are critical to consider with regard to understanding fundamental material behavior in water.

Crumpled Graphene Photodetector with Enhanced, Strain-Tunable, and Wavelength-Selective Photoresponsivity

A stretchable photodetector with enhanced, strain-tunable photoresponsivity is developed based on crumpled graphene by engineering 2D graphene into 3D structures. This crumpled graphene photodetector demonstrates ≈400% enhanced photoresponsivity led by an order-of-magnitude enhanced extinction of graphene and 100% modulation in photoresponsivity with 200% applied strain. Finally, strain-tunable, wavelength-selective photodetection is shown by integrated colloidal photonic crystals-crumpled graphene photodetector devices.

Rapid Stencil Mask Fabrication Enabled One-Step Polymer-Free Graphene Patterning and Direct Transfer for Flexible Graphene Devices

We report a one-step polymer-free approach to patterning graphene using a stencil mask and oxygen plasma reactive-ion etching, with a subsequent polymer-free direct transfer for flexible graphene devices. Our stencil mask is fabricated via a subtractive, laser cutting manufacturing technique, followed by lamination of stencil mask onto graphene grown on Cu foil for patterning. Subsequently, micro-sized graphene features of various shapes are patterned via reactive-ion etching. The integrity of our graphene after patterning is confirmed by Raman spectroscopy. We further demonstrate the rapid prototyping capability of a stretchable, crumpled graphene strain sensor and patterned graphene condensation channels for potential applications in sensing and heat transfer, respectively. We further demonstrate that the polymer-free approach for both patterning and transfer to flexible substrates allows the realization of cleaner graphene features as confirmed by water contact angle measurements. We believe that our new method promotes rapid, facile fabrication of cleaner graphene devices, and can be extended to other two dimensional materials in the future.

Fabrication, Characterization, and Biocompatibility of Polymer Cored Reduced Graphene Oxide Nanofibers

Graphene nanofibers have shown a promising potential across a wide spectrum of areas, including biology, energy, and the environment. However, fabrication of graphene nanofibers remains a challenging issue due to the broad size distribution and extremely poor solubility of graphene. Herein, we report a facile yet efficient approach for fabricating a novel class of polymer core-reduced graphene oxide shell nanofiber mat (RGO-CSNFM) by direct heat-driven self-assembly of graphene oxide sheets onto the surface of electrospun polymeric nanofibers without any requirement of surface treatment. Thus-prepared RGO-CSNFM demonstrated excellent mechanical, electrical, and biocompatible properties. RGO-CSNFM also promoted a higher cell anchorage and proliferation of human bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) compared to the free-standing RGO film without the nanoscale fibrous structure. Further, cell viability of hMSCs was comparable to that on the tissue culture plates (TCPs) with a distinctive healthy morphology, indicating that the nanoscale fibrous architecture plays a critically constructive role in supporting cellular activities. In addition, the RGO-CSNFM exhibited excellent electrical conductivity, making them an ideal candidate for conductive cell culture, biosensing, and tissue engineering applications. These findings could provide a new benchmark for preparing well-defined graphene-based nanomaterial configurations and interfaces for biomedical applications.

Out-of-plane structural flexibility of phosphorene

Phosphorene has been rediscovered recently, establishing itself as one of the most promising two-dimensional group-V elemental monolayers with direct band gap, high carrier mobility, and anisotropic electronic properties. In this paper, surface buckling and its effect on its electronic properties are investigated by using molecular dynamics simulations together with density functional theory calculations. We find that phosphorene shows superior structural flexibility along the armchair direction allowing it to have large curvatures. The semiconducting and direct band gap nature are retained with buckling along the armchair direction; the band gap decreases and transforms to an indirect band gap with buckling along the zigzag direction. The structural flexibility and electronic robustness along the armchair direction facilitate the fabrication of devices with complex shapes, such as folded phosphorene and phosphorene nano-scrolls, thereby offering new possibilities for the application of phosphorene in flexible electronics and optoelectronics.

To what extent can mutual shifting of folded carbonaceous walls in slit-like pores affect their adsorption properties?

We have performed systematic Monte Carlo studies on the influence of shifting the walls in slit-like systems constructed from folded graphene sheets on their adsorption properties. Specifically, we have analysed the effect on the mechanism of argon adsorption (T  =  87 K) and on adsorption and separation of three binary gas mixtures: CO2/N2, CO2/CH4 and CH4/N2 (T  =  298 K). The effects of the changes in interlayer distance were also determined. We show that folding of the walls significantly improves the adsorption and separation properties in comparison to ideal slit-like systems. Moreover, we demonstrate that mutual shift of sheets (for small interlayer distances) causes the appearance of small pores between opposite bulges. This causes an increase in vapour adsorption at low pressures. Due to overlapping of interactions with opposite walls causing an increase in adsorption energy, the mutual shift of sheets is also connected with the rise in efficiency of mixture separation. The effects connected with sheet orientation vanish as the interlayer distance increases.

Femtosecond laser rapid fabrication of large-area rose-like micropatterns on freestanding flexible graphene films

We developed a simple, scalable and high-throughput method for fabrication of large-area three-dimensional rose-like microflowers with controlled size, shape and density on graphene films by femtosecond laser micromachining. The novel biomimetic microflower that composed of numerous turnup graphene nanoflakes can be fabricated by only a single femtosecond laser pulse, which is efficient enough for large-area patterning. The graphene films were composed of layer-by-layer graphene nanosheets separated by nanogaps (~10-50 nm), and graphene monolayers with an interlayer spacing of ~0.37 nm constituted each of the graphene nanosheets. This unique hierarchical layering structure of graphene films provides great possibilities for generation of tensile stress during femtosecond laser ablation to roll up the nanoflakes, which contributes to the formation of microflowers. By a simple scanning technique, patterned surfaces with controllable densities of flower patterns were obtained, which can exhibit adhesive superhydrophobicity. More importantly, this technique enables fabrication of the large-area patterned surfaces at centimeter scales in a simple and efficient way. This study not only presents new insights of ultrafast laser processing of novel graphene-based materials but also shows great promise of designing new materials combined with ultrafast laser surface patterning for future applications in functional coatings, sensors, actuators and microfluidics.

Tactile Sensing System Based on Arrays of Graphene Woven Microfabrics: Electromechanical Behavior and Electronic Skin Application

Nanomaterials serve as promising candidates for strain sensing due to unique electromechanical properties by appropriately assembling and tailoring their configurations. Through the crisscross interlacing of graphene microribbons in an over-and-under fashion, the obtained graphene woven fabric (GWF) indicates a good trade-off between sensitivity and stretchability compared with those in previous studies. In this work, the function of woven fabrics for highly sensitive strain sensing is investigated, although network configuration is always a strategy to retain resistance stability. The experimental and simulation results indicate that the ultrahigh mechanosensitivity with gauge factors of 500 under 2% strain is attributed to the macro-woven-fabric geometrical conformation of graphene, which induces a large interfacial resistance between the interlaced ribbons and the formation of microscale-controllable, locally oriented zigzag cracks near the crossover location, both of which have a synergistic effect on improving sensitivity. Meanwhile, the stretchability of the GWF could be tailored to as high as over 40% strain by adjusting graphene growth parameters and adopting oblique angle direction stretching simultaneously. We also demonstrate that sensors based on GWFs are applicable to human motion detection, sound signal acquisition, and spatially resolved monitoring of external stress distribution.

Mechanically Self-Assembled, Three-Dimensional Graphene-Gold Hybrid Nanostructures for Advanced Nanoplasmonic Sensors

Hybrid structures of graphene and metal nanoparticles (NPs) have been actively investigated as higher quality surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) substrates. Compared with SERS substrates, which only contain metal NPs, the additional graphene layer provides structural, chemical, and optical advantages. However, the two-dimensional (2D) nature of graphene limits the fabrication of the hybrid structure of graphene and NPs to 2D. Introducing three-dimensionality to the hybrid structure would allow higher detection sensitivity of target analytes by utilizing the three-dimensional (3D) focal volume. Here, we report a mechanical self-assembly strategy to enable a new class of 3D crumpled graphene-gold (Au) NPs hybrid nanoplasmonic structures for SERS applications. We achieve a 3D crumpled graphene-Au NPs hybrid structure by the delamination and buckling of graphene on a thermally activated, shrinking polymer substrate. We also show the precise control and optimization of the size and spacing of integrated Au NPs on crumpled graphene and demonstrate the optimized NPs' size and spacing for higher SERS enhancement. The 3D crumpled graphene-Au NPs exhibits at least 1 order of magnitude higher SERS detection sensitivity than that of conventional, flat graphene-Au NPs. The hybrid structure is further adapted to arbitrary curvilinear structures for advanced, in situ, nonconventional, nanoplasmonic sensing applications. We believe that our approach shows a promising material platform for universally adaptable SERS substrate with high sensitivity.

Three-Dimensional Integration of Graphene via Swelling, Shrinking, and Adaptation

The transfer of graphene from its growth substrate to a target substrate has been widely investigated for its decisive role in subsequent device integration and performance. Thus far, various reported methods of graphene transfer have been mostly limited to planar or curvilinear surfaces due to the challenges associated with fractures from local stress during transfer onto three-dimensional (3D) microstructured surfaces. Here, we report a robust approach to integrate graphene onto 3D microstructured surfaces while maintaining the structural integrity of graphene, where the out-of-plane dimensions of the 3D features vary from 3.5 to 50 μm. We utilized three sequential steps: (1) substrate swelling, (2) shrinking, and (3) adaptation, in order to achieve damage-free, large area integration of graphene on 3D microstructures. Detailed scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, and electrical resistance measurement studies show that the amount of substrate swelling as well as the flexural rigidities of the transfer film affect the integration yield and quality of the integrated graphene. We also demonstrate the versatility of our approach by extension to a variety of 3D microstructured geometries. Lastly, we show the integration of hybrid structures of graphene decorated with gold nanoparticles onto 3D microstructure substrates, demonstrating the compatibility of our integration method with other hybrid nanomaterials. We believe that the versatile, damage-free integration method based on swelling, shrinking, and adaptation will pave the way for 3D integration of two-dimensional (2D) materials and expand potential applications of graphene and 2D materials in the future.