Potassium-Doped Graphene Nanoribbons for High-Specific Conductivity Wiring

• Published in: ACS applied nano materials 2019-05, Vol.2 (5), p.2873-2880
• Main Authors: Zhang, Jie, Fahrenthold, Eric P
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 2574-0970; 2574-0970
• DOI: 10.1021/acsanm.9b00327

Carbon-based conductors and metal–carbon composites have attracted much recent research interest as candidates for the future replacement of copper wiring in a variety of applications. The development of nanocarbon-based electrical wiring with high mass specific conductivity is of particular interest in weight sensitive applications such as aerospace vehicle design. Although recent experimental research suggests that doped graphene may offer fundamental improvements in specific conductivity, some important properties of interest cannot be measured directly, including the effects of dopants on the conductance of interfaces (junctions) in multilayer graphene. Recent computational research has developed the first general ab initio model of doped graphene nanoribbon (GNR)-based electrical conductors, including the combined effects of doping density, doping distribution, GNR overlap, junction conductance, junction cascades, and electron mean free path on the specific conductivity of doped graphene nanowires. The general modeling approach has been applied to potassium-doped graphene; the results are consistent with published experimental data and identify nanoscale features which limit macroscale conductor performance.