LONDON -- Researchers at the University ofWisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM) have discovered a semiconductor that can be createdfrom graphene.
Graphene, crystalline carbon in the form of a single sheetof atoms, is widely tipped to impact electronics because it offers higherelectron mobility than materials used in silicon-based transistors. However, upuntil now graphene and its derivatives have only existed as conductors andinsulators.
The team at UWM has produced a derivative with oxygen atomsincluded within the hexagonal carbon-ring structure that characterizes graphenewhich they are calling graphene monoxide (GMO). The existence of the semiconductingderivative could help advance an era of carbon-based nanoscale electronics, theuniversity said.
The team discovered GMO while researching the behavior of ahybrid nanomaterial comprising carbon nanotubes with attached tin-oxidenanoparticles that was being investigated for use as a sensor.
Professors Junhong Chen, Marija Gajdardziska, CarolHirschmugl collaborated on microscopy techniques to investigate carbon surfacesand to try and synthesize graphene from graphene oxide (GO) a multilayer insulator.
However, in one experiment where they were heating GO in avacuum to drive off the oxygen the researchers found that layers of GO becamealigned and formed GMO. The proportion of oxygen included can be varied and atdifferent high temperatures, the team has produced four materials that theycollectively refer to as GMO.
The team is continuing to research the material to find itsrobustness and how easy it might be to scale up its manufacture.
This story was originally posted by EETimes.