title: Functionalized graphene nanoribbon films as a radiofrequency and optically transparent material.
abstract: We report that conductive films made from hexadecylated graphene nanoribbons (HD-GNRs) can have high transparency to radiofrequency (RF) waves even at very high incident power density. Nanoscale-thick HD-GNR films with an area of several square centimeters were found to transmit up to 390 W (2 × 10(5) W/m(2)) of RF power with negligible loss, at an RF transmittance of ∼99%. The HD-GNR films conformed to electromagnetic skin depth theory, which effectively accounts for the RF transmission. The HD-GNR films also exhibited sufficient optical transparency for tinted glass applications, with efficient voltage-induced deicing of surfaces. The dispersion of the HD-GNRs afforded by their edge functionalization enables spray-, spin-, or blade-coating on almost any substrate, thus facilitating flexible, conformal, and large-scale film production. In addition to use in antennas and radomes where RF transparency is crucial, these capabilities bode well for the use of the HD-GNR films in automotive and general glass applications where both optical and RF transparencies are desired.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, ⊥Department of Materials Science and NanoEngineering, #Richard E. Smalley Institute for Nanoscale Science and Technology, Rice University , 6100 Main Street, Houston, Texas 77005, United States.
authors.forename: Abdul-Rahman O
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Raji
authors.forename: Sydney
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Salters
authors.forename: Errol L G
authors.initials: EL
authors.lastname: Samuel
authors.forename: Yu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.forename: Vladimir
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Volman
authors.forename: James M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Tour
keywords: DC conductivity; RF conductivity; RF skin depth; RF transmission loss; RF transmittance; Raman spectroscopy; carbon-based thin film; deicing; functionalized graphene nanoribbon (GNR); optical transparency; radiofrequency (RF) transparent; radome and antenna coating; resistive heating