Electronic and structural properties of graphene-based transparent and conductive thin film electrodes

Abstract

We demonstrate that graphene-based transparent and conductive thin films (GTCFs), fabricated by thermal reduction of graphite oxide, have very similar electronic and structural properties as highly oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG). Electron spectroscopy results suggest that the GTCFs are also semi-metallic and that the individual graphene sheets of the film are predominantly oriented parallel to the substrate plane. These films may therefore be considered as a technologically relevant analogue to HOPG electrodes, which cannot be easily processed into thin films.