Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: Heteroatom doping is an important method for engineering graphene nanoribbons (GNRs) because of its ability to modify electronic properties by introducing extra electrons or vacancies. However, precisely integrating oxygen atoms into the lattice of GNRs is unexplored, and the resulting electronic properties remain elusive. Here, we achieve the precise embedding of oxygen atoms into the lattice of GNRs via in situ formation of pyrans, synthesizing two types of oxygen‐doped GNRs (O‐doped chevron‐GNR and O‐doped chiral (2,1)‐GNR). Using scanning tunneling microscopy, noncontact atomic force microscopy, and density functional theory calculations, the atomic structures and electronic properties of O‐doped GNRs are determined, demonstrating that both GNRs are direct bandgap semiconductors with different sensitivities to oxygen dopants. Oxygen dopants have a minor impact on the bandgap of chevron‐GNR but a significant effect on the bandgap of chiral (2,1)‐GNR, which is attributed to the difference in density of states near the Fermi level between substituted intrinsic carbon atoms and their pristine counterparts. Compared with the pristine chiral (2,1)‐GNR, the band structure of O‐doped chiral (2,1)‐GNR exhibits unexpected band edges transition, which is ascribed to sp 2 ‐hybridized oxygen atoms which introduces additional electrons to the conduction band of chiral (2,1)‐GNR, leading to the upward shift of Fermi surface.
Language: English
Subfield: Materials Chemistry
Field: Materials Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
Funders: National Natural Science Foundation of China, Ministry of Science and Technology of the People's Republic of China, China Postdoctoral Science Foundation, East China University of Science and Technology, National Postdoctoral Program for Innovative Talents, National Key Research and Development Program of China, Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities, Youth Innovation Promotion Association
OpenAlex ID: W4411740891