Charge transfer in graphene/polymer interfaces for CO2 detection

Myungwoo Son, Yusin Pak, Sang Soo Chee, Francis Malar Auxilia, Kihyeun Kim, Byung Kee Lee, Sungeun Lee, Sun Kil Kang, Chaedeok Lee, Jeong Soo Lee, Ki Kang Kim, Yun Hee Jang, Byoung Hun Lee, Gun Young Jung, Moon Ho Ham

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

37 Scopus citations

Abstract

Understanding charge transfer processes between graphene and functional materials is crucial from the perspectives of fundamental sciences and potential applications, including electronic devices, photonic devices, and sensors. In this study, we present the charge transfer behavior of graphene and amine-rich polyethyleneimine (PEI) upon CO2 exposure, which was significantly improved after introduction of hygroscopic polyethylene glycol (PEG) in humid air. By blending PEI and PEG, the number of protonated amine groups in PEI was remarkably increased in the presence of water molecules, leading to a strong electron doping effect on graphene. The presence of CO2 gas resulted in a large change in the resistance of PEI/PEG-co-functionalized graphene because of the dramatic reduction of said doping effect, reaching a maximum sensitivity of 32% at 5,000 ppm CO2 and an applied bias of 0.1 V in air with 60% relative humidity at room temperature. This charge transfer correlation will facilitate the development of portable graphene-based sensors for real-time gas detection and the extension of the applications of graphene-based electronic and photonic devices. [Figure not available: see fulltext.].

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)3529-3536
Number of pages8
JournalNano Research
Volume11
Issue number7
DOIs
StatePublished - 1 Jul 2018

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2017, Tsinghua University Press and Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.

Keywords

  • carbon dioxide
  • charge transfer
  • graphene
  • polyethylene glycol
  • polyethyleneimine (PEI)

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