Fabrication process to obtain single layer graphene nanoribbons (sGNR). Blue and red sheet corresponds to single carbon atomic layer each. (a) defect induce by anneal(b) Unzip by sonication. Unzip start from the defects. (c) DWNT was perfect unzip.(d) flat double layer GNR（dGNR）was obtained.(e) further sonication promote separation of dGNR (f) two single layer GNR（sGNR）were finally obtained. sGNR obtained from outer wall (red) is slightly wider than that from inner wall (blue).
July 27, 2015
Success in developing a simple method for fabricating single-layer graphene nanoribbons from double-walled carbon nanotubes
A research group led by Prof. TANAKA Hirofumi of the Graduate School of Engineering, Osaka University (visiting professor from Kyushu Institute of Technology), in collaboration with a research team comprised of Prof. OGAWA Takuji and Prof. KOBAYASHI Yoshihiro of Osaka University, Prof. KASAI Seiya of Hokkaido University, and Associate Prof. YAMADA Toyokazu of Chiba University, succeeded in (1) finding a method to fabricate single-layer graphene nanoribbon (sGNR) by an unzip of double walled carbon nanotube (DWNT) and (2) discovering that the electric property of sGNR could be controlled by the adsorption of nanoparticles of planar molecules and that sGNR changes to semiconducting only near the area of adsorption. As known in “Moore´s Law,” the downsizing of nanodevices is nearing its physical fabrication limit.
The phenomena found in this work will help speed up the information process in devices of the same size to current Si devices.
