Events

Making Graphene Soluble - Dr Cecilia Mattevi from The Department of Materials, Imperial College London

Date: Monday 12 March 2012 11:00 - 12:00

Location: SEMS Seminar Room

Abstract:

Low cost high quality graphene production and its scalable and reliable deposition onto large areas remain challenging. Solubilization of graphene could potentially be a valuable option that allows large-scale production and processing. In this regard, we focused our attention on oxygen-functionalized graphene that is water-soluble. Here, I will present our work on enabling novel pathways for large area electronics using solution processable chemical derivatives of graphene. Correlation between electrical, structural and chemical properties of chemically derived graphene thin films along with novel tuneable opto-electronic properties, such as photoluminescence and giant IR absorption, will be discussed. Further, understanding of the atomic structure evolution of chemical derived graphene upon thermal treatment will be reviewed as an invaluable tool to design novel functionalized graphene and novel graphene interfaces. The last part of my talk will demonstrate how new processing method and capabilities can be applied in designing novel graphene interfaces, which include metals and organic molecules, for practical devices.


Brief biographical information:

Cecilia Mattevi received her B.Sc. and M.Sc. in Materials Science from the University of Padua (IT) in 2004. She did her Ph.D. in Trieste (IT) at the European Synchrotron Facility Elettra, focusing on understanding the growth mechanism of carbon nanotubes. She extensively studied, using in situ time-resolved spectroscopies, the dynamic interplay between carbon network formation and transformation of the catalyst particle chemical state during the growth by chemical vapor deposition (CVD). In 2008, she joined the group of Prof. Chhowalla in the Materials Science and Engineering Department at Rutgers. There, she has focused on enabling novel pathways for large area electronics using solution processable chemical derivatives of graphene. She worked on the integration of 2D nanosheets into devices as well on understanding the evolution of graphene chemical derivative during thermal treatments. Currently, Cecilia is a junior research fellow in the Department of Materials at Imperial College London where she is working on the chemistry of colloidal suspensions of various 2D nanosheets and their hierarchical assembly into 2D/3D structures. The goals are to integrate opportunely designed 2D heterostructures into large area low power devices as well as using 3D scaffolds for electrochemical energy conversion devices.