Effect of anchor and functional groups in functionalized graphene devices

The electrical properties of chemically derived graphene and graphene grown by chemical vapor deposition (CVD), until now, have been inferior to those of mechanically exfoliated graphene. However, because graphene is easier to produce in large quantities through CVD or growth from solid carbon sources, it has a higher potential for use in future electronics applications. Generally, modifications to the pristine lattice structure of graphene tend to adversely affect the electrical properties by shifting the doping level and changing the conductivity and the mobility. Here we show that a small degree of graphene surface functionalization, using diazonium salts with electron-withdrawing and electron-donating functional groups, is sufficient to predominantly induce p-type doping, undiminished mobility, and higher conductivity at the neutrality point. Molecules without a diazonium anchor group desorb easily and do not have a significant effect on the electronic properties of graphene devices. We further demonstrate the variability between identically fabricated pristine devices, thereby underscoring the caution needed when characterizing graphene device behaviors lest conclusions be drawn based on singular extremes.