Effects of nitrogen-dopant bonding states on liquid-flow-induced electricity generation of graphene: A comparative study

Abstract

We fabricate, measure and compare the effects of the bonding states of dopant nitrogen atoms in graphene devices, specifically on the liquid-flow-induced electricity by these devices. We find that nitrogen doping enhances the voltage induced by liquid flow regardless of the nitrogen bonding state. However, different nitrogen bonding states affect graphene’s conductivity differently: while graphitic nitrogen is suitable for electricity-generation applications, pyridinic nitrogen is hopeless for this purpose, due to the formation of symmetry-breaking defects of the latter. Keywords: Nitrogen doped graphene, Flow-induced electricity generation, Water-graphene interface