Abstract-Annealing temperature dependent terahertz-thermal-electrical conversion characteristics of three-dimensional microporous graphene

Meng Chen, Yingxin Wang, Jianguo Wen, Honghui Chen, Wenle Ma, Fei Fan, Yi Huang, and Ziran Zhao

https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acsami.8b20095


Three-dimensional microporous graphene (3DMG), possesses ultrahigh photon absorptivity and excellent photothermal conversion ability, and shows great potential in energy storage and photodetection, especially for the not well-explored terahertz (THz) frequency range. Here, we report on the characterization of THz-thermal-electrical conversion properties of 3DMG with different annealing treatments. We observe distinct behavior of bolometric and photothermoelectric responses varying with annealing temperature. Resistance-temperature characteristics and thermoelectric power measurements reveal that marked charge carrier reversal occurs in 3DMG as the annealing temperature changes between 600 and 800 °C, which can be well explained by Fermi-level tuning associated with oxygen functional group evolution. Benefiting from the large specific surface area of 3DMG, it has an extraordinary capability of reaching thermal equilibrium quickly and exhibits a fast photothermal conversion with a time constant of 23 ms. In addition, 3DMG can serve as an ideal absorber to improve the sensitivity of THz detectors and we demonstrate that the responsivity of a carbon nanotube device could be enhanced by 12 times through 3DMG. Our work provides new insight into the physical characteristics of carrier transport and THz-thermal-electrical conversion in 3DMG controlled by annealing temperature and opens an avenue for the development of highly efficient graphene-based THz devices.