Doping graphene via Organic Solid-Solid Wetting Deposition

Organic Solid-Solid Wetting Deposition (OSWD) enables the fabrication of supramolecular architectures without the need for solubility or vacuum conditions. The technique is based on a process which directly generates two-dimensional monolayers from three-dimensional solid organic powders. Consequently, insoluble organic pigments and semiconductors can be made to induce monolayer self-assembly on substrate surfaces, such as graphene and carbon nanotubes, under ambient conditions. The above factuality hence opens up the potential of the OSWD for bandgap engineering applications within the context of carbon based nanoelectronics. However, the doping of graphene via OSWD has not yet been verified, primarily owing to the fact that the classical OSWD preparation procedures do not allow for the analysis via Raman spectroscopy – one of the main techniques to determine graphene doping. Hence, here we describe a novel approach to induce OSWD on graphene leading to samples suitable for Raman spectroscopy. The analysis reveals peak shifts within the Raman spectrum of graphene, which are characteristics for p-type doping. Additional evidence for chemical doping is found via Scanning Tunneling Spectroscopy. The results open up a very easily applicable, low-cost, and eco-friendly way for doping graphene via commercially available organic pigments.