Liu Zhongfan's Academic Team in "ACS Nano": High-Conductivity, High-Quality Nitrogen-Doped Vertically Oriented Graphene Films!

In recent years, graphene has captured the spotlight for its exceptional properties and its diverse applications in high-performance electronics, transparent electrodes, supercapacitors, and energy storage and conversion systems. The quest for direct synthesis of graphene on functional insulating substrates, bypassing the complex transfer processes required after fabrication on highly catalytic metal surfaces, has been a focal point of research. This approach promises to streamline the production of graphene-based electronic products, particularly on cost-effective and highly transparent glass materials, ideal for direct manufacturing platforms.

However, challenges have persisted, notably when depositing graphene at lower temperatures (around 600°C) on non-catalytic insulating substrates. The resultant graphene often suffers from high defect density, poor crystallinity, and reduced conductivity. Addressing this issue, the innovative team led by Academy member Liu Zhongfan and researcher Zhang Yanfeng at BGI has made a significant leap forward.

Utilizing radio frequency plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (rf-PECVD), the team successfully grew high-quality, vertically oriented graphene (VG) films on high-borosilicate glass substrates. Their pioneering synthesis strategy, leveraging methane/acetonitrile precursors and nitrogen doping, fine-tunes the carrier concentration. Impressively, the nitrogen-doped VG films achieved a transparency rate of 88% and reduced electrical resistance to about 2.3kΩ·sq–1—more than doubling the conductivity compared to conventional methane precursor PECVD products. 

This groundbreaking method enables the production of uniform, nitrogen-doped graphene glass on a 30-inch scale, paving the way for its application in high-performance, switchable windows. Additionally, these nitrogen-doped VG films have shown great potential as effective electrocatalysts for hydrogen evolution reactions.

The team's research, published in the prestigious journal ACS NANO under the title "Highly Conductive Nitrogen-Doped Vertically Oriented Graphene toward Versatile Electrode-Related Applications," marks a pivotal advancement in the field of material science and graphene technology. This innovation not only showcases BGI's leading role in graphene research but also holds promise for a wide range of applications in the electronics industry and beyond, moving us closer to a future where advanced materials drive technological progress.