Work

Enhancing the Electric Field-Induced Response of Graphene with Metal Oxides: Experimental and DFT Study

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: The potential of graphene for electric field sensing is limited by its zero bandgap. This study employs a combined first-principles and experimental approach to enhance its response via heterojunctions with ZnO, SnO2, and Al2O3. Calculations reveal spontaneous formation and interfacial charge transfer in all systems, with SnO2/graphene exhibiting the most significant charge transfer (0.3636 e) and inducing a finite bandgap (0.017–0.064 eV). Experimentally, SnO2-graphene/PDMS composites demonstrated the highest relative permittivity (3.19) and a 7.76% increase in normalized induced voltage over pure PDMS within 50 Hz–50 kHz. This work establishes a direct correlation between interfacial charge transfer, bandgap opening, and macroscopic dielectric enhancement, identifying SnO2/graphene as the optimal heterojunction. The integrated multi-scale methodology provides a clear design principle for high-performance, graphene-based field-sensitive materials.

Source: Crystals

DOI: 10.3390/cryst15121064

Authors: Yuxing Lei, Bo Li, Mengyao Zhu, Jiao Sun, Haitao Yang

Institutions: Yunnan Power Grid Co., Ltd. (China), Beijing Jiaotong University

Language: English

Topic: Graphene research and applications

Subfield: Materials Chemistry

Field: Materials Science

Domain: Physical Sciences

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $2,534

Funder: China Southern Power Grid