Graphene molecular electronics

Fullerenes, Carbon Nanotubes, and Graphene for Molecular Electronics... 

The purpose of this review is to present recent developments on the utilization of fullerenes, carbon nanotubes, and graphene in molecular electronics. 

In this section, we will discuss fascinating results of graphene applications in molecular electronics, with the focus on optoelectronics and organic FETs. 

Since 2004 [183], graphene research has evolved from a heavily theoretical and fundamental field into a variety of research areas [301]. Its electrical, magnetic, physical-mechanical, and chemical properties position it as the most promising material for molecular electronic and optoelectronic applications, possibly replacing the currently used silicon and metal oxide based devices. Nonetheless, further research is essential in order to control easily such properties and construct devices with specific and novel architectures to explore in depth all of these exciting properties, as well as to achieve the synthesis of large-scale, size- and layer-count controlled graphene. 

In the following chapters of this textbook, different aspects of electrochemical research on carbon materials will be discussed in detail, including carbon electrodes in different applications (fuel cells, molecular electronics, sensing, etc.) using various methods (surface modification, carbon paste, carbon fiber, etc.), and electrochemistry of different carbon materials (graphene, HOPG, carbon nanotube, diamond, etc.). 

This section focuses on the electronic properties of other, novel carbon materials as relevant to their use in molecular electronics. The appropriate background regarding properties and preparation methods is discussed, while an interested reader may refer to Chapters 1-4 for more details on electrochemistry of highly oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG), graphene, and CNTs. Here, we specifically consider electrodes made of confined sp2 carbon layers, and limit the discussion to graphene and CNTs as prominent examples. 

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