The electronic structures and magnetic properties of graphene nanoflakes (GNFs) exposed to an organo-silane precursor [tetra-methyl-silane, Si(CH3)4] were studied using atomic force microscopy, electron field emission (EFE), x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and magnetization. The result of XPS indicates that silyl radical based strong covalent bonds were formed in GNFs, which induced local structural relaxations and enhanced sp3 hybridization. The EFE measurements show an increase in the turn-on electric field from 9.8 V/μm for pure GNFs to 26.3 V/μm for GNFs:Si having highest Si/(Si + C) ratio ( ≅ 0.35) that also suggests an enhancement of the non-metallic sp3 bonding in the GNFs matrix. Magnetic studies show that the saturation magnetization (Ms) is decreased from 172.53 × 10−6 emu/g for pure GNFs to 13.00 × 10−6 emu/g for GNFs:Si with the highest Si/(Si + C) ratio 0.35, but on the other side, the coercivity (Hc) increases from 66 to 149 Oe due to conversion of sp2 → sp3-hybridization along with the formation of SiC and Si-O bonding in GNFs. The decrease in saturation magnetization and increase in coercivity (Hc) in GNFs on Si-functionalization are another routes to tailor the magnetic properties of graphene materials for magnetic device applications.
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21 September 2015
Research Article|
September 15 2015
Magnetic behavioural change of silane exposed graphene nanoflakes
Sekhar C. Ray;
Sekhar C. Ray
a)
1Department of Physics, College of Science, Engineering and Technology,
University of South Africa
, Private Bag X6, Florida, 1710, Science Campus, Christiaan de Wet and Pioneer Avenue, Florida Park, Johannesburg 1710, South Africa
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D. K. Mishra;
D. K. Mishra
1Department of Physics, College of Science, Engineering and Technology,
University of South Africa
, Private Bag X6, Florida, 1710, Science Campus, Christiaan de Wet and Pioneer Avenue, Florida Park, Johannesburg 1710, South Africa
2Department of Physics, Institute of Technical Research and Education,
Siksha ‘O’ Anusandhan University
, Khandagiri Square, Bhubaneswar 751030, Odisha, India
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A. M. Strydom;
A. M. Strydom
3Highly Correlated Matter Research Group, Physics Department,
University of Johannesburg
, PO Box 524, Auckland Park 2006, South Africa
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P. Papakonstantinou
P. Papakonstantinou
4Nanotechnology and Integrated Bioengineering Center (NIBEC), School of Engineering,
University of Ulster
, Jordanstown Campus, Newtownabbey BT37 0QB, United Kingdom
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a)
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed. Electronic mail: [email protected]
J. Appl. Phys. 118, 115302 (2015)
Article history
Received:
May 24 2015
Accepted:
September 01 2015
Citation
Sekhar C. Ray, D. K. Mishra, A. M. Strydom, P. Papakonstantinou; Magnetic behavioural change of silane exposed graphene nanoflakes. J. Appl. Phys. 21 September 2015; 118 (11): 115302. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4930932
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