CAREER: Fabricating Free-Standing Three-Dimensional Graphene Nanostructures through Functionalization, Folding, and Self-Assembly

这个教师早期职业发展（CAREER）补助金将建立一个独立的，三维（3D），功能化，石墨烯结构的制造方法。3D石墨烯结构由于其不同于二维（2D）石墨烯纳米片的独特性质和行为在过去几年中引起了极大的兴趣。3D石墨烯结构可以导致在光学、电子学、光电子学和生物医学设备中的应用，这是用2D石墨烯结构无法实现的。石墨烯基材料的有用特性之一是通过官能化可调节其物理和化学性质。目前，不存在3D石墨烯基材料的功能化，因为常规光刻技术如电子束光刻、光刻和纳米压印光刻是仅允许在平面基底上图案化和功能化的2D方法。该研究计划旨在开发纳米制造工艺，并证明3D多面体石墨烯结构可以在3D结构的每个面上实现单独功能化的石墨烯纳米片。拟议工作的影响是发现了可以用于开发下一代3D纳米电子学，3D多通道过滤设备和有益于人类健康的纳米医学传感器的知识。该奖项的目的是展示在2D石墨烯纳米片中没有观察到的3D石墨烯材料的独特性能。异质3D功能化将通过3D结构上的掺杂和表面图案化来实现，这将改变3D纳米结构的物理和化学性质，从而导致新一代3D器件。具体的研究兴趣和职业目标包括以下内容：（a）开发自组装和折叠过程，将2D结构转化为3D器件，克服传统光刻工艺的局限性，并允许创建独立的3D石墨烯基（石墨烯和氧化石墨烯）多面体和纳米管阵列;（B）在所述3D石墨烯结构上实现非均相功能化，其中每个石墨烯基膜限定所述3D多面体结构的每个面并且针对特定功能进行功能化;（c）在开发3D石墨烯传感器和装置时应用自组装过程。这项工作将有助于解决使用2D材料的主要问题，并为下一代纳米器件的开发带来重大进展。

This Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) grant will build a methodology for the fabrication of free-standing, three-dimensional (3D), functionalized, graphene structures. 3D graphene structures have been of great interest in the last few years because of their unique properties and behaviors, which are different from two-dimensional (2D) graphene nanosheets. 3D graphene structures can lead to applications in optics, electronics, optoelectronics, and biomedical devices, which cannot be realized with 2D graphene structures. One of the useful characteristics of graphene-based materials is tunability of their physical and chemical properties through functionalization. Currently, functionalization of 3D graphene-based materials does not exist, because conventional lithographic techniques such as electron beam lithography, photolithography, and nanoimprint lithography are 2D methods which allow patterning and functionalizing only on planar substrates. This research plan seeks to develop nanomanufacturing processes and demonstrate that 3D polyhedral graphene structures can be realized with individually functionalized graphene nanosheets on each face of the 3D structures. The impact of the proposed work is the discovery of knowledge that can be harnessed in developing next-generation 3D nanoelectronics, 3D multi-channel filtering devices, and nanomedical sensors beneficial to human health. The goal of this award is to demonstrate the unique properties of 3D graphene materials not observed in 2D graphene nanosheets. The heterogeneous 3D functionalization will be accomplished through doping and surface patterning on the 3D structures, which will alter the physical and chemical properties of the 3D nanostructures, leading to a new generation of 3D devices. The specific research interests and CAREER objectives encompass the following: (a) develop a self-assembly and folding processes to transform 2D structures into 3D devices, overcoming the limitations of the conventional lithographic processes and allowing for the creation of free-standing 3D graphene-based (graphene and graphene oxide) polyhedral and nanotube arrays; (b) realize heterogeneous functionalization on the 3D graphene structures, with each graphene-based membrane defining each face of the 3D polyhedron structure and functionalized for specific functionalities; (c) apply the self-assembly process in the development of 3D graphene-based sensors and devices. This work will contribute to solving major problems with using 2D materials and bring significant advances in the development of next-generation nano-enabled devices.