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Quantitative Analysis Of Structure And Bandgap Changes In Graphene Oxide Nanoribbons During Thermal Annealing, Yu Zhu, Xianyu Li, Qinjia Cai, Zhengzong Sun, Gilberto Casillas, Miguel Jose-Yacaman, Rafael Verduzco, James Tour

Yu Zhu

Graphene oxide nanoribbons (GONRs) are wide bandgap semiconductors that can be reduced to metallic graphene nanoribbons. The transformation of GONRs from their semiconductive to the metallic state by annealing has attracted significant interest due to its simplicity. However, the detailed process by which GONRs transform from widebandgap semiconductors to semimetals with a near zero bandgap is unclear. As a result, precise control of the bandgap between these two states is not currently achievable. Here, we quantitatively examine the removal of oxygen-containing groups and changes in the bandgap during thermal annealing of GONRs. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy measurements show the progressive removal …