All-Carbon Negative Differential Resistance Nanodevice Using a Single Flake of Nanoporous Graphene

A temperature-induced degenerate p-type graphene nanopore/reduced graphene oxide (GNP/rGO) heterojunction-based nanodevice was prepared and studied for the first time, showing a robust negative differential resistance (NDR) feature. In this regard, cellulose-based perforated graphene foams (PGFs), containing numerous nanopores (with an average size of ∼2 nm surrounded by nearly six-layer rGO walls) were synthesized using bagasse as a green starting material. The PGFs with an essential p-type semiconducting property showed a band gap energy of ∼1.8 eV. The observed two-terminal NDR peak could present stable and reversible features at high temperatures of 586–592 K. It was demonstrated that the O2 gas of the ambient would be involved in a crucial activity in water-based degeneration of the initial p-type regions around the GNPs and, consequently, the appearance of an intensive quantum tunneling NDR peak. An electron-band structure-based mechanism is proposed to describe the lateral quantum tunneling current within the degenerate p-type GNP and rGO heterojunction that is induced by the energized water molecules (EWMs). These results can shed light on more investigations regarding lateral quantum tunneling-based NDR features in upcoming and highly desired two-dimensional electronic nanodevices.