The excellent electrical properties of semi-metallic graphene have made it an irreplaceable material in many applications. Opening the band gap in graphene without compromising on its other established properties would be a huge revolution to the semiconductor industry. Reports indicate that graphene semiconductors could offer a replacement for the silicon industry.
Exfoliation of graphite into single layers called graphene was a revolutionary discovery, opening many doorways to material exploration and applications. Graphene contains a carbon chain linked in sp2 hybridization, making it a material with high electrical conductivity.
The charges, electrons, or holes achieve ballistic transport pathways in the direction of the plane of the graphene layer at room temperature, recording the highest charge mobility ever recorded in any material.
Exceptional properties of graphene, such as high mechanical flexibility, strength, and physical and chemical stability, make it the optimum material for vast applications. Graphene is a zero-bandgap material semiconductor, also called a semimetal. This intrinsic nature of graphene impedes its application in many electronics.
Hence, the scientific community has investigated the possibilities of transforming graphene into a semiconductor that could open up various applications and enhance the performance of many existing devices. Semiconducting graphene has the potential to replace silicon in the future, as the downscaling of silicon has reached its limit.1
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