Water may hold answer to graphene-based transistors

A team of researchers from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute has announced a new technique for using water to tune the band gap of the nanomaterial graphene. The researchers are focusing on this effort to demonstrate the potential of graphene in transistors, diodes, and nanoelectronics. The team has been able to create a band gap in graphene by exposing a graphene film to humidity. They have demonstrated the way to open a band gap in graphene based on the amount of water they adsorbed to one side of the material, tuning the band gap to any value from 0 to 0.2 electron volts. This effect has been fully reversible, so that the band gap goes back to zero when exposed to a vacuum. The technique is so simple its only requirement is an enclosure where humidity can be precisely controlled.