MOLECULAR MASS MANIPULATION ENABLED BY GRAPHENE BASED NANOSTRUCTURES

Abstract

The surge of interest in graphene, as epitomized by the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2010, is attributed to its extraordinary properties. Graphene is ultrathin, mechanically tough, and has amendable surface chemistry. These features make graphene and graphene based nanostructure an ideal candidate for the use of molecular mass manipulation. The controllable and programmable molecular mass manipulation is crucial in enabling future graphene based applications, however is challenging to achieve. This dissertation studies several aspects in molecular mass manipulation including mass transportation, patterning and storage.

For molecular mass transportation, two methods based on carbon nanoscroll are demonstrated to be effective. They are torsional buckling instability assisted

transportation and surface energy induced radial shrinkage. To achieve a more controllable transportation, a fundamental law of direction transport of molecular mass by straining basal graphene is studied.

For molecular mass patterning, we reveal a barrier effect of line defects in graphene, which can enable molecular confining and patterning in a domain of desirable geometry. Such a strategy makes controllable patterning feasible for various types of molecules.

For molecular mass storage, we propose a novel partially hydrogenated bilayer graphene structure which has large capacity for mass uptake. Also the mass release can be achieved by simply stretching the structure. Therefore the mass uptake and release is reversible. This kind of structure is crucial in enabling hydrogen fuel based technology.

Lastly, spontaneous nanofluidic channel formation enabled by patterned hydrogenation is studied. This novel strategy enables programmable channel formation with pre-defined complex geometry.