title: Ultrasensitive gas detection of large-area boron-doped graphene.
abstract: Heteroatom doping is an efficient way to modify the chemical and electronic properties of graphene. In particular, boron doping is expected to induce a p-type (boron)-conducting behavior to pristine (nondoped) graphene, which could lead to diverse applications. However, the experimental progress on atomic scale visualization and sensing properties of large-area boron-doped graphene (BG) sheets is still very scarce. This work describes the controlled growth of centimeter size, high-crystallinity BG sheets. Scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy are used to visualize the atomic structure and the local density of states around boron dopants. It is confirmed that BG behaves as a p-type conductor and a unique croissant-like feature is frequently observed within the BG lattice, which is caused by the presence of boron-carbon trimers embedded within the hexagonal lattice. More interestingly, it is demonstrated for the first time that BG exhibits unique sensing capabilities when detecting toxic gases, such as NO2 and NH3, being able to detect extremely low concentrations (e.g., parts per trillion, parts per billion). This work envisions that other attractive applications could now be explored based on as-synthesized BG.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Advanced Materials of Ministry of Education of China, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China; Department of Physics, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802; Center for 2-Dimensional and Layered Materials, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802;
authors.forename: Ruitao
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Lv
authors.affiliation: Honda Research Institute USA Inc., Columbus, OH 43212;
authors.forename: Gugang
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Institute of Functional Nano and Soft Materials and Collaborative Innovation Center of Suzhou Science and Technology, Soochow University, Jiangsu 215123, China;
authors.forename: Qing
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802; Center for 2-Dimensional and Layered Materials, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802;
authors.forename: Amber
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: McCreary
authors.affiliation: Institute of Condensed Matter and Nanosciences, Université catholique de Louvain, 1348 Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium;
authors.forename: Andrés
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Botello-Méndez
authors.affiliation: School of Physics & Astronomy, University of Manchester, Manchester, M13 9PL, United Kingdom;
authors.forename: S V
authors.initials: SV
authors.lastname: Morozov
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, Applied Physics and Astronomy, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY 12180;
authors.forename: Liangbo
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1199-0049
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Liang
authors.affiliation: Institute of Condensed Matter and Nanosciences, Université catholique de Louvain, 1348 Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium;
authors.forename: Xavier
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Declerck
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802; Center for 2-Dimensional and Layered Materials, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802;
authors.forename: Nestor
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Perea-López
authors.affiliation: Materials Science & Technology Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN 37831;
authors.forename: David A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Cullen
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802; Center for 2-Dimensional and Layered Materials, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802;
authors.forename: Simin
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Feng
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802; Center for 2-Dimensional and Layered Materials, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802;
authors.forename: Ana Laura
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Elías
authors.affiliation: Research Center for Exotic Nanocarbons, Shinshu University, Wakasato 4-17-1, Nagano 380-8553, Japan;
authors.forename: Rodolfo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Cruz-Silva
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802; Center for 2-Dimensional and Layered Materials, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802;
authors.forename: Kazunori
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Fujisawa
authors.affiliation: Research Center for Exotic Nanocarbons, Shinshu University, Wakasato 4-17-1, Nagano 380-8553, Japan;
authors.forename: Morinobu
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Endo
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Advanced Materials of Ministry of Education of China, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China;
authors.forename: Feiyu
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Kang
authors.affiliation: Institute of Condensed Matter and Nanosciences, Université catholique de Louvain, 1348 Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium;
authors.forename: Jean-Christophe
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Charlier
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, Applied Physics and Astronomy, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY 12180;
authors.forename: Vincent
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Meunier
authors.affiliation: School of Physics, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, China;
authors.forename: Minghu
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pan
authors.affiliation: Honda Research Institute USA Inc., Columbus, OH 43212;
authors.forename: Avetik R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Harutyunyan
authors.affiliation: School of Physics & Astronomy, University of Manchester, Manchester, M13 9PL, United Kingdom;
authors.forename: Konstantin S
authors.initials: KS
authors.lastname: Novoselov
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802; Center for 2-Dimensional and Layered Materials, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802; Research Center for Exotic Nanocarbons, Shinshu University, Wakasato 4-17-1, Nagano 380-8553, Japan; Department of Chemistry, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802; Department of Materials Science & Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802 mut11@psu.edu.
authors.forename: Mauricio
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Terrones
keywords: B-C trimers; STM; boron-doped; gas sensor; graphene