Highly stable self-passivated MoO3-doped graphene film with nonvolatile MoOx layer

The realization of high-performance graphene-based electronics, including transparent electrodes, flexible de-vices, and energy storage, is often hindered by the lack of adequate doping, which provides a stable and low sheet resistance. In this study, we demonstrate a highly stable MoO3-doped graphene obtained simply through a self-passivation. Graphene deposited with a 5-nm-thick MoO3 exhibited a significant decrease in sheet resistance upon annealing at 400 degrees C under a hydrogen atmosphere. Surface and structural analyses confirmed that MoO3 was converted to MoOx by thermal annealing, which consisted of mainly crystalline MoO3 and Mo4O11 with coexisting MoO2. A field-effect transistor fabricated using the MoOx-doped graphene exhibited a p-type char-acteristic similar to that of the MoO3-doped graphene. However, unlike the MoO3-doped graphene severely degraded by environment, the MoOx-doped graphene exhibited stable electrical properties after air exposure and chemical immersion owing to the chemically inert Mo4O11 and MoO2 acting as passivation layers while main-taining the p-type doping by MoO3. Thus, we expect that the highly stable MoOx-doped graphene obtained via the simple method will facilitate the fabrication and contribute to the performance reliability of various graphene-based electronic devices.

Automated summary

A highly stable MoO3-doped graphene obtained through self-passivation exhibited improved electrical properties after annealing at 400 degrees C under a hydrogen atmosphere. The MoOx obtained mainly consisted of crystalline MoO3 and coexisting Mo4O11 and MoO2, which allowed the graphene to maintain stable electrical performance even after exposure to air and chemical immersion. This simple method of obtaining highly stable MoOx-doped graphene is expected to facilitate the fabrication and enhance the performance reliability of various graphene-based electronic devices.