Mechanical exfoliation is a widely used method to isolate high quality graphene layers from bulk graphite. In our recent experiments, some ordered microstructures, consisting of a periodic alternation of kinks and str...Mechanical exfoliation is a widely used method to isolate high quality graphene layers from bulk graphite. In our recent experiments, some ordered microstructures, consisting of a periodic alternation of kinks and stripes, were observed in thin graphite flakes that were mechanically peeled from highly oriented pyrolytic graphite. In this paper, a theoretical model is presented to attribute the formation of such ordered structures to the alternation of two mechanical processes during the exfoliation： （1） peeling of a graphite flake and （2） mechanical buckling of the flake being sub- jected to bending. In this model, the width of the stripes L is determined by thickness h of the flakes, surface energy Y, and critical buckling strain ecr. Using some appropriate values of y and ecr that are within the ranges determined by other inde- pendent experiments and simulations, the predicted relations between the stripe width and the flake thickness agree reason- ably well with our experimental measurements. Conversely, measuring the L-h relations of the periodic microstructures in thin graphite flakes could help determine the critical mechan- ical buckling strain εcr and the interface energy γ.展开更多
Moiré patterns on HOPG were studied with scanning tunneling microscopy （STM）. The results reveal that the observed Moiré patterns originate from the defects locating several layers below the surface, which...Moiré patterns on HOPG were studied with scanning tunneling microscopy （STM）. The results reveal that the observed Moiré patterns originate from the defects locating several layers below the surface, which presents the first experimental evidence supporting the prediction that in HOPG the nanoscale electronic waves can propagate through several layers without obvious decay.展开更多
Cobalt nanoparticles on the surface of highly oriented pyrolytic graphite have been studied by atomic force microscopy. Thermal annealing in ultrahigh vacuum was used to change the size of cobalt nanoparticles and the...Cobalt nanoparticles on the surface of highly oriented pyrolytic graphite have been studied by atomic force microscopy. Thermal annealing in ultrahigh vacuum was used to change the size of cobalt nanoparticles and their surface distribution. The effect of two key parameters, annealing time and temperature, on the size and the surface distribution of nanoparticles has been studied. The dependence of the particle size on these parameters has been obtained. It has been shown that the main mechanism of the nanoparticle growth is Ostwald ripening.展开更多
Self-assembled structures of 3,4,5-tris-dodecy- loxy benzoic acid methyl ester (E12), 3,4,5-tris-tetradecy- loxy-benzoic acid methyl ester (E14) and their mixture (E12/E14) have been studied on HOPG by scanning tunnel...Self-assembled structures of 3,4,5-tris-dodecy- loxy benzoic acid methyl ester (E12), 3,4,5-tris-tetradecy- loxy-benzoic acid methyl ester (E14) and their mixture (E12/E14) have been studied on HOPG by scanning tunnel- ing microscopy (STM). Dimer-like patterns induced by di- pole-dipole interaction are observed in E12 and E14 monolayers. The molecules form close-packed rows and in- terdigitate with the alkyl chains in adjacent molecules. The structural differences are proposed to be from the different length of substituted alkyl chains. Owing to similar adsorp- tion energy, phase separation is observed in the E12 and E14 mixed adlayer with different domains.展开更多
Light-induced structural transformation of 4-(amyloxy)cinnamic acid (AOCA) on the surface of highly oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG) was investigated with scanning tunneling microscopy (STM). AOCA molecules form hig...Light-induced structural transformation of 4-(amyloxy)cinnamic acid (AOCA) on the surface of highly oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG) was investigated with scanning tunneling microscopy (STM). AOCA molecules form highly-ordered adlayer on HOPG spontaneously, stabilized by hydrogen bonding between neighboring molecules. After UV-light irradiation onto the adlayer, the ordered ad- layer was disrupted and a new disordered structure was observed, which indicated that dimerization of AOCA molecules took place. The STM results reveal the direct evidence for the photoisomerization of cin- namic acid at atom level.展开更多
In the present work we develop an electrochemical assisted method to form nanopores on the surface of highly oriented pyrolytic graphite(HOPG),which was accomplished by a simple electrochemical route and a scalable na...In the present work we develop an electrochemical assisted method to form nanopores on the surface of highly oriented pyrolytic graphite(HOPG),which was accomplished by a simple electrochemical route and a scalable nanomaterial,carbon nanodots,without applying high voltages,high temperatures or toxic reagents.HOPG electrodes are in a solution of N-enrich carbon nanodots in acidic media and the potential scans applied on HOPG lead to the formation of a spatially inhomogeneous porous surface.The diameter of the resulting nanopores can be tuned by controlling the number of electrochemical reduction cycles.The resulting nanoporous surfaces are characterized by atomic force microscopy,Raman spectroscopy,scanning electrochemical microscopy,electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and electrochemistry.These nanoporous HOPG showed high capacitance.Hence the potential of these surfaces to the development of energy storage devices is demonstrated.展开更多
Nanobubbles have been proven existent at the liquid/solid interface, and become a focus of research on varied interfacial processes. In the present work, by observing in situ with atomic force microscope (AFM), we fou...Nanobubbles have been proven existent at the liquid/solid interface, and become a focus of research on varied interfacial processes. In the present work, by observing in situ with atomic force microscope (AFM), we found that nanobubbles could influence the adsorption process of bovine serum albumin (BSA) on hydrophobic surface of highly ordered pyrolytic graphite (HOPG). BSA could adsorb evenly, and coexist with nanobubbles at water/HOPG interface. After removing nanobubbles by injecting ethanol, some hollows were found in the BSA layers at the same positions of nanobubbles existing previously. These hollows were about 8 nm in depth and dozens of nanometers in diameter. The correlation coefficient between the areas of nanobubbles and that of the corresponding hollows reached 0.88―0.94, which strongly supported the assumption that the hollows were indeed caused by the nanobubbles. Moreover, the BSA molecules formed rings around the nanobubbles, suggesting the preference of BSA adsorption onto the contact line at water/HOPG interface.展开更多
基金financia support from NSFC(Grant 10832005)the National Basic Research Program of China(Grant 2007CB936803)+1 种基金the National 863 Project(Grant2008AA03Z302)the support from the engineering faculty of Monash University through seed grant 2014
文摘Mechanical exfoliation is a widely used method to isolate high quality graphene layers from bulk graphite. In our recent experiments, some ordered microstructures, consisting of a periodic alternation of kinks and stripes, were observed in thin graphite flakes that were mechanically peeled from highly oriented pyrolytic graphite. In this paper, a theoretical model is presented to attribute the formation of such ordered structures to the alternation of two mechanical processes during the exfoliation： （1） peeling of a graphite flake and （2） mechanical buckling of the flake being sub- jected to bending. In this model, the width of the stripes L is determined by thickness h of the flakes, surface energy Y, and critical buckling strain ecr. Using some appropriate values of y and ecr that are within the ranges determined by other inde- pendent experiments and simulations, the predicted relations between the stripe width and the flake thickness agree reason- ably well with our experimental measurements. Conversely, measuring the L-h relations of the periodic microstructures in thin graphite flakes could help determine the critical mechan- ical buckling strain εcr and the interface energy γ.
文摘Moiré patterns on HOPG were studied with scanning tunneling microscopy （STM）. The results reveal that the observed Moiré patterns originate from the defects locating several layers below the surface, which presents the first experimental evidence supporting the prediction that in HOPG the nanoscale electronic waves can propagate through several layers without obvious decay.
文摘Cobalt nanoparticles on the surface of highly oriented pyrolytic graphite have been studied by atomic force microscopy. Thermal annealing in ultrahigh vacuum was used to change the size of cobalt nanoparticles and their surface distribution. The effect of two key parameters, annealing time and temperature, on the size and the surface distribution of nanoparticles has been studied. The dependence of the particle size on these parameters has been obtained. It has been shown that the main mechanism of the nanoparticle growth is Ostwald ripening.
文摘Self-assembled structures of 3,4,5-tris-dodecy- loxy benzoic acid methyl ester (E12), 3,4,5-tris-tetradecy- loxy-benzoic acid methyl ester (E14) and their mixture (E12/E14) have been studied on HOPG by scanning tunnel- ing microscopy (STM). Dimer-like patterns induced by di- pole-dipole interaction are observed in E12 and E14 monolayers. The molecules form close-packed rows and in- terdigitate with the alkyl chains in adjacent molecules. The structural differences are proposed to be from the different length of substituted alkyl chains. Owing to similar adsorp- tion energy, phase separation is observed in the E12 and E14 mixed adlayer with different domains.
基金This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China （Grant No. 20121301）the National Key Project on Basic Research （Grant No. 2002CCA03100）.
文摘Light-induced structural transformation of 4-(amyloxy)cinnamic acid (AOCA) on the surface of highly oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG) was investigated with scanning tunneling microscopy (STM). AOCA molecules form highly-ordered adlayer on HOPG spontaneously, stabilized by hydrogen bonding between neighboring molecules. After UV-light irradiation onto the adlayer, the ordered ad- layer was disrupted and a new disordered structure was observed, which indicated that dimerization of AOCA molecules took place. The STM results reveal the direct evidence for the photoisomerization of cin- namic acid at atom level.
基金The authors are grateful for the financial support provided by the Ministerio de Ciencia,Innovación,Universidades of Spain(CTQ2017-84309-C2-1-R,RED2018-102412-T)Comunidad Autónoma de Madrid(TRANSNANOAVANSENS Program)+1 种基金Generalitat Valenciana(APOSTD/2017/010)C.G.-S.also acknowledges the financial support from the Comunidad Autónoma de Madrid,Atracción de Talento Program(2017-T1/BIO-5435).
文摘In the present work we develop an electrochemical assisted method to form nanopores on the surface of highly oriented pyrolytic graphite(HOPG),which was accomplished by a simple electrochemical route and a scalable nanomaterial,carbon nanodots,without applying high voltages,high temperatures or toxic reagents.HOPG electrodes are in a solution of N-enrich carbon nanodots in acidic media and the potential scans applied on HOPG lead to the formation of a spatially inhomogeneous porous surface.The diameter of the resulting nanopores can be tuned by controlling the number of electrochemical reduction cycles.The resulting nanoporous surfaces are characterized by atomic force microscopy,Raman spectroscopy,scanning electrochemical microscopy,electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and electrochemistry.These nanoporous HOPG showed high capacitance.Hence the potential of these surfaces to the development of energy storage devices is demonstrated.
基金National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 20403010)
文摘Nanobubbles have been proven existent at the liquid/solid interface, and become a focus of research on varied interfacial processes. In the present work, by observing in situ with atomic force microscope (AFM), we found that nanobubbles could influence the adsorption process of bovine serum albumin (BSA) on hydrophobic surface of highly ordered pyrolytic graphite (HOPG). BSA could adsorb evenly, and coexist with nanobubbles at water/HOPG interface. After removing nanobubbles by injecting ethanol, some hollows were found in the BSA layers at the same positions of nanobubbles existing previously. These hollows were about 8 nm in depth and dozens of nanometers in diameter. The correlation coefficient between the areas of nanobubbles and that of the corresponding hollows reached 0.88―0.94, which strongly supported the assumption that the hollows were indeed caused by the nanobubbles. Moreover, the BSA molecules formed rings around the nanobubbles, suggesting the preference of BSA adsorption onto the contact line at water/HOPG interface.
