title: Metallic Nanoislands on Graphene as Highly Sensitive Transducers of Mechanical, Biological, and Optical Signals.
abstract: This article describes an effect based on the wetting transparency of graphene; the morphology of a metallic film (≤20 nm) when deposited on graphene by evaporation depends strongly on the identity of the substrate supporting the graphene. This control permits the formation of a range of geometries, such as tightly packed nanospheres, nanocrystals, and island-like formations with controllable gaps down to 3 nm. These graphene-supported structures can be transferred to any surface and function as ultrasensitive mechanical signal transducers with high sensitivity and range (at least 4 orders of magnitude of strain) for applications in structural health monitoring, electronic skin, measurement of the contractions of cardiomyocytes, and substrates for surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS, including on the tips of optical fibers). These composite films can thus be treated as a platform technology for multimodal sensing. Moreover, they are low profile, mechanically robust, semitransparent and have the potential for reproducible manufacturing over large areas.
authors.affiliation: Department of NanoEngineering, University of California, San Diego , 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, California 92093-0448, United States.
authors.forename: Aliaksandr V
authors.initials: AV
authors.lastname: Zaretski
authors.affiliation: Department of NanoEngineering, University of California, San Diego , 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, California 92093-0448, United States.
authors.forename: Samuel E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Root
authors.affiliation: Department of Bioengineering, University of California, San Diego , 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, California 92093-0412, United States.|Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute , 10901 North Torrey Pines Road., La Jolla, California 92037, United States.
authors.forename: Alex
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Savchenko
authors.affiliation: NTBS , Encinitas, California 92024, United States.
authors.forename: Elena
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Molokanova
authors.affiliation: Department of NanoEngineering, University of California, San Diego , 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, California 92093-0448, United States.
authors.forename: Adam D
authors.initials: AD
authors.lastname: Printz
authors.affiliation: Department of NanoEngineering, University of California, San Diego , 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, California 92093-0448, United States.
authors.forename: Liban
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Jibril
authors.affiliation: Department of NanoEngineering, University of California, San Diego , 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, California 92093-0448, United States.
authors.forename: Gaurav
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Arya
authors.affiliation: Department of Bioengineering, University of California, San Diego , 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, California 92093-0412, United States.|Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute , 10901 North Torrey Pines Road., La Jolla, California 92037, United States.
authors.forename: Mark
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mercola
authors.affiliation: Department of NanoEngineering, University of California, San Diego , 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, California 92093-0448, United States.
authors.forename: Darren J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Lipomi
mesh_terms: D015374:Biosensing Techniques; D006108:Graphite / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006801:Humans; D055595:Mechanical Phenomena; D053768:Metal Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D032383:Myocytes, Cardiac / Q000473:pathology; D053758:Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry; D054118:Nanospheres / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D013059:Spectrum Analysis, Raman; D013499:Surface Properties
chemical_list: D006108:Graphite
keywords: Graphene; SERS; cardiomyocyte; strain sensor; wearable sensor; wetting transparency