Thermal desorption of structured water layer on epitaxial graphene

Abstract

Thermal desorption of the structured water layer on graphene was observed in this study via electrical conductivity measurements. Specifically, a structured water layer was formed on the graphene surface via deionized water treatment, following which we examined the thermal desorption process of the layer using sheet resistance measurements. The water molecules acting as a p-type dopant were strongly adsorbed on graphene, forming a solid layer. Consequently, the layer was completely removed from the graphene surface at 300 °C. The thermal desorption spectrum of the structured water layer on graphene was quantitatively obtained by converting the measured sheet resistance to carrier density change.