Reduced Graphene Oxide/Polyelectrolyte Multilayers for Fast Resistive Humidity Sensing

Fast humidity sensors are of interest due to their potential application in new sensing technologies such as wearable personal healthcare and environment sensing devices. However, the realization of rapid response/recovery humidity sensors remains challenging primarily due to the sluggish adsorption/desorption of water molecules, which particularly impacts the response/recovery times. Moreover, another key factor for fast humidity sensing, namely the attainment of equal response and recovery times, has often been neglected. Herein, the layer-by-layer (LbL) assembly of a reduced graphene oxide (rGO)/polyelectrolyte is demonstrated for application in fast humidity sensors. The resulting sensors exhibit fast response and recovery times of 0.75 and 0.85 s (corresponding to times per RH range of 0.24 and 0.27 s RH^-1, respectively), providing a difference of only 0.1 s (corresponding to 0.03 s RH^-1). This performance exceeds that of the majority of previously reported graphene oxide (GO)- or rGO-based humidity sensors. In addition, the polyelectrolyte deposition time is shown to be key to controlling the humidity sensing kinetics. The as-developed rapid sensing system is expected to provide useful guidance for the tailorable design of fast humidity sensors.

Indirect Band Gap in Scrolled MoS2 Monolayers

MoS₂ nanoscrolls that have inner core radii of ∼250 nm are generated from MoS₂ monolayers, and the optical and transport band gaps of the nanoscrolls are investigated. Photoluminescence spectroscopy reveals that a MoS₂ monolayer, originally a direct gap semiconductor (∼1.85 eV (optical)), changes into an indirect gap semiconductor (∼1.6 eV) upon scrolling. The size of the indirect gap for the MoS₂ nanoscroll is larger than that of a MoS₂ bilayer (∼1.54 eV), implying a weaker interlayer interaction between concentric layers of the MoS₂ nanoscroll compared to Bernal-stacked MoS₂ few-layers. Transport measurements on MoS₂ nanoscrolls incorporated into ambipolar ionic-liquid-gated transistors yielded a band gap of ∼1.9 eV. The difference between the transport and optical gaps indicates an exciton binding energy of 0.3 eV for the MoS₂ nanoscrolls. The rolling up of 2D atomic layers into nanoscrolls introduces a new type of quasi-1D nanostructure and provides another way to modify the band gap of 2D materials.

Direct Synthesis of MoS2 Nanosheets in Reduced Graphene Oxide Nanoscroll for Enhanced Photodetection

Due to their unique tubular and spiral structure, graphene and graphene oxide nanoscrolls (GONS) have shown extensive applications in various fields. However, it is still a challenge to improve the optoelectronic application of graphene and GONS because of the zero bandgap of graphene. Herein, ammonium tetrathiomolybdate ((NH₄)₂MoS₄) was firstly wrapped into the ((NH₄)₂MoS₄@GONS) by molecular combing the mixture of (NH₄)₂MoS₄ and GO solution on hydrophobic substrate. After thermal annealing, the (NH₄)₂MoS₄ and GO were converted to MoS₂ nanosheets and reduced GO (RGO) simultaneously, and, thus, the MoS₂@RGONS was obtained. Raman spectroscopy and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy were used to confirm the formation of MoS₂ nanosheets among the RGONS. The amount of MoS₂ wrapped in RGONS increased with the increasing height of GONS, which is confirmed by the atomic force microscopy and Raman spectroscopy. The as-prepared MoS₂@RGONS showed much better photoresponse than the RGONS under visible light. The photocurrent-to-dark current ratios of photodetectors based on MoS₂@RGONS are ~570, 360 and 140 under blue, red and green lasers, respectively, which are 81, 144 and 35 times of the photodetectors based on RGONS. Moreover, the MoS₂@RGONS-based photodetector exhibited good power-dependent photoresponse. Our work indicates that the MoS₂@RGONS is expected to be a promising material in the fields of optoelectronic devices and flexible electronics.

Solvent-Free Preparation of Closely Packed MoS2 Nanoscrolls for Improved Photosensitivity

Due to their enhanced light absorption efficiency, one-dimensional (1D) transition metal dichalcogenide (TMDC) nanoscrolls derived from two-dimensional (2D) TMDC nanosheets have shown excellent optoelectronic properties. Currently, organic solvent and alkaline droplet-assisted scrolling methods are popular for preparing TMDC nanoscrolls. Unfortunately, the adsorption of organic solvent or alkaline impurities on TMDC is inevitable during the preparation, which affects the optoelectronic properties of TMDC. In this work, we report a solvent-free method to prepare closely packed MoS₂ nanoscrolls by dragging a deionized water droplet onto the chemical vapor deposition grown monolayer MoS₂ nanosheets at 100 °C (referred to as MoS₂ NS-W). The as-prepared MoS₂ NS-W was well characterized by optical microscopy, atomic force microscopy, and ultralow frequency (ULF) Raman spectroscopy. After high temperature annealing, the height of MoS₂ nanoscrolls prepared using an ethanol droplet (referred to as MoS₂ NS-E) greatly decreased, indicating the loss of encapsulated ethanol in MoS₂ NS-E. While the height of MoS₂ NS-W was almost unchanged under the same conditions, implying that no water was embedded in the scroll. Compared to the MoS₂ NS-E, the MoS₂ NS-W shows more ULF breathing mode peaks, confirming the stronger interlayer interaction. In addition, the MoS₂ NS-W shows a higher Young's modulus than MoS₂ NS-E, which could arise from the closely packed scroll structure. Importantly, the MoS₂ NS-W device showed a photosensitivity 1 order of magnitude higher than that of the MoS₂ NS-E device under blue, green, and red lasers, respectively. The decreased photosensitivity of MoS₂ NS-E was attributed to the larger dark current, which might be assigned to the adsorbed ethanol between the adjacent layers in MoS₂ NS-E. Our work provides a solvent-free method to prepare closely packed MoS₂ nanoscrolls at large scale and demonstrates their great potential for high-performance optoelectronic devices.

Vortex fluidic mediated transformation of graphite into highly conducting graphene scrolls

Two-dimensional graphene has remarkable properties that are revolutionary in many applications. Scrolling monolayer graphene with precise tunability would create further potential for niche applications but this has proved challenging. We have now established the ability to fabricate monolayer graphene scrolls in high yield directly from graphite flakes under non-equilibrium conditions at room temperature in dynamic thin films of liquid. Using conductive atomic force microscopy we demonstrate that the graphene scrolls form highly conducting electrical contacts to highly oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG). These highly conducting graphite-graphene contacts are attractive for the fabrication of interconnects in microcircuits and align with the increasing interest in building all sp²-carbon circuits. Above a temperature of 450 °C the scrolls unravel into buckled graphene sheets, and this process is understood on a theoretical basis. These findings augur well for new applications, in particular for incorporating the scrolls into miniaturized electronic devices.

Impact of pH on Regulating Ion Encapsulation of Graphene Oxide Nanoscroll for Pressure Sensing

Recently, graphene oxide nanoscroll (GONS) has attracted much attention due to its excellent properties. Encapsulation of nanomaterials in GONS can greatly enhance its performance while ion encapsulation is still unexplored. Herein, various ions including hydronium ion (H₃O⁺), Fe³⁺, Au³⁺, and Zn²⁺ were encapsulated in GONSs by molecular combing acidic graphene oxide (GO) solution. No GONS was obtained when the pH of the GO solution was greater than 9. A few GONSs without encapsulated ion were obtained at the pH of 5–8. When the pH decreased from 5 to 0.15, high-density GONSs with encapsulated ions were formed and the average height of GONS was increased from ~50 to ~190 nm. These results could be attributed to the varied repulsion between carboxylic acid groups located at the edges of GO nanosheets. Encapsulated metal ions were converted to nanoparticles in GONS after high-temperature annealing. The resistance-type device based on reduced GONS (rGONS) mesh with encapsulated H₃O⁺ showed good response for applied pressure from 600 to 8700 Pa, which manifested much better performance compared with that of a device based on rGONS mesh without H₃O⁺.

Recent Advances in Graphene-Based Humidity Sensors

Humidity sensors are a common, but important type of sensors in our daily life and industrial processing. Graphene and graphene-based materials have shown great potential for detecting humidity due to their ultrahigh specific surface areas, extremely high electron mobility at room temperature, and low electrical noise due to the quality of its crystal lattice and its very high electrical conductivity. However, there are still no specific reviews on the progresses of graphene-based humidity sensors. This review focuses on the recent advances in graphene-based humidity sensors, starting from an introduction on the preparation and properties of graphene materials and the sensing mechanisms of seven types of commonly studied graphene-based humidity sensors, and mainly summarizes the recent advances in the preparation and performance of humidity sensors based on pristine graphene, graphene oxide, reduced graphene oxide, graphene quantum dots, and a wide variety of graphene based composite materials, including chemical modification, polymer, metal, metal oxide, and other 2D materials. The remaining challenges along with future trends in high-performance graphene-based humidity sensors are also discussed.

Transforming Monolayer Transition-Metal Dichalcogenide Nanosheets into One-Dimensional Nanoscrolls with High Photosensitivity

One-dimensional (1D) nanoscrolls derived from two-dimensional (2D) nanosheets own unusual physical and chemical properties that arise from the spiraled 1D morphology and the atomic thin 2D building blocks. Unfortunately, preparation of large-sized nanoscrolls of transition-metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs) remains a big challenge, which greatly restricts the fabrication of single-scroll devices for their fundamental studies and further applications. In this work, we report a universal and facile method, by making use of the evaporation process of volatile organic solvent, to prepare TMDC (e.g., MoS₂ and WS₂) nanoscrolls with lengths of several tens to one hundred micrometers from their 2D precursors presynthesized by chemical vapor deposition on Si/SiO₂. Both atomic force microscopy and electron microscopy characterizations confirmed the spirally rolledup structure in the resulting nanoscrolls. An interlayer spacing of as small as ∼0.65 nm was observed, suggesting the strong coupling between adjacent layers, which was further evidenced by the emergence of new breathing mode peaks in the ultralow frequency Raman spectrum. Importantly, compared with the photodetector fabricated from a monolayer MoS₂ or WS₂ nanosheet, the device based on an MoS₂ or WS₂ nanoscroll showed the much enhanced performance, respectively, with the photosensitivity greatly increased up to 2 orders of magnitude. Our work suggests that turning 2D TMDCs into 1D scrolls is promising in achieving high performances in various electronic/optoelectronic applications, and our general method can be extended to the preparation of large-sized nanoscrolls of other kinds of 2D materials that may bring about new properties and phenomena.

Synthesis of a Co3O4@gold/MWCNT/polypyrrole hybrid composite for DMMP detection in chemical sensors

Chemical sensors based on a nanocrystalline Co₃O₄/gold@MWCNT/polypyrrole decorated hybrid composite were fabricated, and their sensitivity properties to stimulant dimethylmethylphosphonate (DMMP) were characterized.