Observations of the electrical behaviour of catalytically grown scrolled graphene

Carbon nanoscrolls, made of rolled up graphene, are expected to show unique electronic properties different from those of nested multi-wall tubes. Here we report in situ TEM observations and electrical measurements of the transport and breakdown behaviour of catalytically grown, multi-turn monochiral graphene scrolls, 30–65 nm in outer diameter. Generally, the low-bias IV region proved strictly linear Ohmic behaviour, non-linear increase in conductance occurred beyond an applied voltage of ∼0.4 V. Excellent maximum conductance values up to G ∼ 63 G0 and sustainable current-carrying capacities up to J = 8.5 × 108 A/cm2 were found in the most successful samples right before electric breakdown. Inferior values are ascribed to defect-rich or semiconducting scrolls. This study emphasizes the promising nature of carbon nanoscrolls for a number of electronic device applications.