Uniform doping of graphene close to the Dirac point by polymer-assisted assembly of molecular dopants

Tuning the charge carrier density of two-dimensional (2D) materials by incorporating dopants into the crystal lattice is a challenging task. An attractive alternative is the surface transfer doping by adsorption of molecules on 2D crystals, which can lead to ordered molecular arrays. However, such systems, demonstrated in ultra-high vacuum conditions (UHV), are often unstable in ambient conditions. Here we show that air-stable doping of epitaxial graphene on SiC—achieved by spin-coating deposition of 2,3,5,6-tetrafluoro-tetracyano-quino-dimethane (F4TCNQ) incorporated in poly(methyl-methacrylate)—proceeds via the spontaneous accumulation of dopants at the graphene-polymer interface and by the formation of a charge-transfer complex that yields low-disorder, charge-neutral, large-area graphene with carrier mobilities ~70 000 cm2 V−1 s−1 at cryogenic temperatures. The assembly of dopants on 2D materials assisted by a polymer matrix, demonstrated by spincoating wafer-scale substrates in ambient conditions, opens up a scalable technological route toward expanding the functionality of 2D materials.

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-018-06352-5