Device-oriented graphene nanopatterning by mussel-inspired directed block copolymer self-assembly

Directed self-assembly of a block copolymer is successfully employed to fabricate device-oriented graphene nanostructures from CVD grown graphene. We implemented mussel-inspired polydopamine adhesive in conjunction with the graphoepitaxy principle to tailor graphene nanoribbon arrays and a graphene nanomesh located between metal electrodes. Polydopamine adhesive was utilized for facile and damage-free surface treatment to complement the low surface energy of pristine graphene. Our process minimizes the damage to the ideal graphitic structures and electrical properties of graphene during the nanopatterning process. Multi-channel graphene nanoribbon arrays and a graphene nanomesh were successfully fabricated between metal electrodes.