Bilayer nanocarbon heterojunction for full-solution processed flexible all-carbon visible photodetector

Abstract

Low-dimensional carbon nanomaterials have emerged as promising materials for optoelectronic devices, fueled by their predominant optical and electronic properties. Herein, by utilizing a bilayer nanocarbon heterojunction comprising one dimensional (1D) single-walled carbon nanotubes and zero dimensional (0D) fullerenes (C60), a flexible all-carbon visible photodetector consisting of the bilayer nanocarbon heterojunction onto parallel dimethyl sulfoxide -doped poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrene sulfonic acid) electrodes is fabricated on a polyethylene terephthalate substrate via the full-solution process. The obtained photodetector exhibits excellent air-stable photosensitivity under the visible light condition with a high light/dark current ratio, which is attributed to the efficient separation of photogenerated electron-hole pairs at the interface of the bilayer heterojunction. Moreover, the photodetector shows stable photoresponse during the bending test with a small bending radius owing to its intrinsic flexible properties of each component. This work affords new opportunities for high-throughput fabrication of next-generation flexible carbon electronics toward greener electronics.