Synthesis and properties of an atomically thin carbon nanosheet similar to graphene and its promising use as an organic thin film transistor

We synthesize an atomically thin carbon nanosheet (CNS) analogous to graphene with properties suitable for an organic thin film transistor (OTFT). The synthesis of graphene by chemical vapor deposition has serious drawbacks such as wrinkles, grain boundaries, and defects due to catalyst removal and transfer process. Here the CNS is directly synthesized on a silicon wafer by heat-treatment of spin-coated polyacrylonitrile and shows a higher electrical conductivity (>1600 S cm−1) than that of chemically converted graphene. The CNS on glass, transferred from a silicon wafer, exhibits approximately 92% optical transmittance. We have used our CNS as the electrodes of OTFTs, and recorded a mobility (0.25–0.35 cm2 V−1 s−1) that exceeds that of gold electrodes (0.2–0.25 cm2 V−1 s−1).