Equilibrium molecular dynamics simulations show that graphene nanoribbons (GNRs) with zigzag edges have higher thermal conductivity (j) than armchair-edged ones, and the difference diminishes with increasing temperature or ribbon width. The dominant phonon wavelength for thermal transport can be much longer (by orders of magnitude) than the difference between the “roughness” of smooth zigzag an...

Scanning tunnelling microscopy and spectroscopy experiments complemented by first-principles calculations have been conducted to study the electronic structure of 4 monolayer Bi(110) nanoribbons on epitaxial graphene on silicon carbide [4H-SiC(0001)]. In contrast with the semimetal property of elemental bismuth, an energy gap of 0.4 eV is measured at the centre of the Bi(110) nanoribbons. Edge ...

Heat flow in nanomaterials is an important area of study, with both fundamental and technological implications. However, little is known about heat flow in two-dimensional devices or interconnects with dimensions comparable to the phonon mean free path. Here we find that short, quarter-micron graphene samples reach ~35% of the ballistic thermal conductance limit up to room temperature, enabled ...

Directed self-assembly of a block copolymer is successfully employed to fabricate device-oriented graphene nanostructures from CVD grown graphene. We implemented mussel-inspired polydopamine adhesive in conjunction with the graphoepitaxy principle to tailor graphene nanoribbon arrays and a graphene nanomesh located between metal electrodes. Polydopamine adhesive was utilized for facile and dama...

The understanding of crack formation due to applied stress is key to predicting the ultimate mechanical behavior of many solids. Here we present experimental and theoretical studies on cracks or tears in suspended monolayer graphene membranes. Using transmission electron microscopy, we investigate the crystallographic orientations of tears. Edges from mechanically induced ripping exhibit straig...

We developed a chemical route to produce graphene nanoribbons (GNR) with width below 10 nanometers, as well as single ribbons with varying widths along their lengths or containing lattice-defined graphene junctions for potential molecular electronics. The GNRs were solution-phase-derived, stably suspended in solvents with noncovalent polymer functionalization, and exhibited ultrasmooth edges wi...