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5 years ago

Electric-Field-Tunable Conductivity in Graphene/Water and Graphene/Ice Systems

Electric-Field-Tunable Conductivity in Graphene/Water and Graphene/Ice Systems
Peng Zhai, Shien-Ping Feng, Xun Wang, Yuechen Wang, Chang Liu
This study demonstrates that the application of an external electrical potential to a phenyl-sulfonic functionalized graphene (SG)/water suspension distinctly enhances its electrical conductivity via the structural transition from isolated clusters to a 3D SG network. Microstructural and alternating current impedance spectroscopy studies indicate that the surface charge plays an important role in the state of dispersion and connectivity of the SG in the suspension due to the potential-dependent interactions with functional groups on the SG surface in the presence of an external electrical potential. In addition, the conductive SG/ice can be produced via liquid–solid phase transition of the SG/water suspension in the presence of an external electrical potential, which shows a one-order magnitude improvement in electrical conductivity compared with pure ice. The electric-field-tunable property advances the understanding of nanofluid systems and has many potential applications. A distinct enhancement in electrical conductivity for graphene/water suspension under an external electrical potential indicates that the presence of an electrical field contributes to the formation of percolation networks among the graphene nanosheets, resulting from the potential-dependent surface charge effect of the functional groups on the sulfonated graphene surface.

Publisher URL: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/resolve/doi

DOI: 10.1002/smll.201701149

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