Electronic transport properties of low-dimensional carbon materials with structural short-range order

Abstract

Low-dimensional carbon materials, including graphene and carbon nanotubes, are key for nanoelectronics, sensors, and energy devices. Their electronic properties can change strongly when impurities and functional groups create short-range order. Therefore, it is important to clarify how impurity concentration, configuration, and twist angle affect electron transport.
In this work, we investigated single layer graphene, AB bilayer graphene, turbostratic graphene (TBG), and multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs). Atomic models with impurities in the first and second coordination spheres were constructed. Using the Krivoglaz–Katsnelson theory of short-range order and temperature Green’s functions, analytical formulas were derived for density of states, electronic heat capacity, electrical and thermal conductivity.
The results show clear distinctions between systems. In single layer graphene, impurities in the first coordination sphere open a gap in the density of states, providing a pathway for bandgap engineering. In AB bilayer graphene, only states near the Fermi level are modified. In MWCNTs, oxygen functionalization reduces conductivity as concentration increases from 5 to 12 at.%, with further decrease when the second coordination sphere is filled. In TBG, twist angle and impurity ordering jointly determine electronic thermal conductivity. At small twist angles (<15°), conductivity follows a power-law dependence close to T^1.5.
These findings highlight how short-range order controls electron transport in carbon nanostructures and open opportunities for designing materials with tunable electronic and thermal properties for next-generation applications.

This work was carried out within the Government research assignment for ISPMS SB RAS, project FWRW-2022-0002.

Speaker

Anna Belosludtseva
ISPMS SB RAS
Russia

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