How Defects Alter Graphene Nanoribbons

Nanotransistors, nanosensors, and medical nanorobots are just a few of the futuristic devices that will require electrical wires engineered to molecular precision. Graphene nanoribbons are a leading candidate to take on that role. These narrow strips of graphene, with widths of less than 50 nm, inherit all the electromechanical advantages of graphene but also have a tunable band gap that is crucial to many applications. However, no one has yet studied how inevitable molecular defects will impact their performance. Now, Matthias Koch at the Fritz Haber Institute of the Max Planck Society, Germany, and colleagues show that defects increase the flexibility of graphene nanoribbons while leaving their electronic properties unaffected.