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Published June 2025 | Version Published
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Robust Laser‐Induced Graphene‐Boron‐Doped Diamond Nanowall Hybrid Nanostructures with Enhanced Field Electron Emission Performance for Microplasma Illumination Devices

Creators

  • 1. ROR icon Gdańsk University of Technology
  • 2. ROR icon Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie
  • 3. ROR icon Institute of Minerals and Materials Technology
  • 4. ROR icon Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research
  • 5. ROR icon Brno University of Technology
  • 6. ROR icon Polish Academy of Sciences
  • 7. ROR icon California Institute of Technology

Abstract

This investigation introduces a scalable fabrication method for laser-induced graphene (LIG)-boron-doped diamond nanowall (BDNW) hybrid nanostructures, designed for field electron emission (FEE) cathode materials in microplasma illumination (μPI) devices. The two-step process involves fabricating BDNWs via microwave plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition, followed by drop-casting BDNW dispersion onto polyimide foils to create LIG-BDNW hybrid nanostructures. Topographic studies reveal that BDNWs on LIG boosts surface area and prevent graphene restacking. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy confirms precise BDNW decoration, creating sharp edges and high porosity. The effects of boron and nitrogen dopants, highlighted by Raman spectroscopy, are corroborated by near-edge X-ray absorption fire structure and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopies. The hybrid nanostructures exhibit high electrical conductivity and superior FEE properties, with a low turn-on field of 2.9 V μm−1, a large FEE current density of 3.0 mA cm−2 at an applied field of 7.9 V μm−1, and a field-enhancement factor of 5,480. The hybrid nanostructures demonstrate an exceptionally low breakdown voltage of 320 V and a plasma current density of 9.48 mA cm−1 at an applied voltage of 550 V. Ab-initio calculations of the electronic structure further support the experimental findings of these diamond–graphene hybrids, underscoring their potential in advanced electronic applications.

Acknowledgement

M.F. acknowledges the funding from the National Science Centre, Poland, under the OPUS call in the Weave program (Project number: 2021/43/I/ST7/03205; GACR project no. 23-04322L). R.B. acknowledges the funding from NATO through the project SPS G6112. M.B. thank Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB) for the allocation of synchrotron radiation beamtime at HZB (Germany).

Open Access funding enabled and organized by Projekt DEAL.

Copyright and License

© 2025 The Author(s). Small Science published by Wiley-VCH GmbH.This is an open access article under the terms of the CreativeCommons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution andreproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Contributions

Mohsen Khodadadiyazdi: methodology (equal); writing—original draft (equal). Mateusz Ficek: conceptualization (equal); investigation (equal); methodology (equal). Maria Brzhezinskaya: data curation (equal); formal analysis (equal); methodology (equal); visualization (equal); writing—original draft (equal). Shradha Suman: data curation (equal); visualization (equal). Salila Kumar Sethy: data curation (equal); formal analysis (equal); writing—original draft (equal). Kamatchi Jothiramalingam Sankaran: conceptualization (equal); data curation (equal); visualization (equal); writing—original draft (equal). Bartłomiej Dec: data curation (equal); writing—original draft (equal). Mattia Pierpaoli: funding acquisition (equal); visualization (equal). Sujit Deshmukh: visualization (equal); writing—original draft (equal). Miroslaw Sawczak: data curation (equal); writing—original draft (equal). William A. Goddard III: funding acquisition (equal); project administration (equal); supervision (equal); validation (equal). Robert Bogdanowicz: funding acquisition (equal); project administration (equal); supervision (equal); writing—review & editing (equal).

Additional details

Funding

National Science Center
GACR project no. 23-04322L 2021/43/I/ST7/03205
North Atlantic Treaty Organization
SPS G6112

Dates

Available
2025-04-21

Caltech Custom Metadata

Caltech groups
Division of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering (CCE)
Publication Status
Published