journal article·2022-04-28Open access

Atomically resolved TEM imaging of covalently functionalised graphene

Christian Dolle, Peter Schweizer, Daniela Dasler, Sebastian Gsänger, Robert Maidl, Gonzalo Abellán, Frank Hauke, Bernd Meyer, Andreas Hirsch, Erdmann Spiecker

Abstract

Abstract Covalent functionalisation can be a powerful lever to tune the properties and processability of graphene. After overcoming the low chemical reactivity of graphene, covalent functionalisation led to the generation of new hybrid materials, applicable in a broad variation of fields. Although the process of functionalising graphene is nowadays firmly established, fundamental aspects of the produced hybrid materials remain to be clarified. Especially the atomically resolved imaging is only scarcely explored. Here we show aberration corrected in situ high resolution TEM imaging of dodecyl functionalised monolayer graphene at atomic resolution after an effective mechanical filtering approach. The mechanical filtering allows to separate adsorbed contamination from the covalently bound functional molecules and thus opens the possibility for the observation of this hybrid material. The obtained data is validated by DFT calculations and by a novel image simulation approach based on molecular dynamics (MD) simulations at room temperature.
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Research context

OpenAlex topics: Graphene research and applications · Advanced Electron Microscopy Techniques and Applications · Electron and X-Ray Spectroscopy Techniques

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