Fluorinated Graphene Properties and Applications

Fluorinated graphene is derived from pristine graphene through the covalent attachment of fluorine atoms, yielding a two-dimensional material with predominantly sp³ hybridisation and a tunable electronic band gap. The introduction of C–F bonds transforms the zero-gap semi-metal of graphene into materials ranging from wide-gap insulators to semiconductors, depending on fluorine coverage and configuration. Single-sided fluorination induces a polar structure with out-of-plane dipoles, whereas double-sided fluorination produces a stable, buckled lattice with enhanced thermal and irradiation resistance. These structural modifications confer high chemical stability, adjustable optical absorption, and the possibility of engineered magnetic moments. Owing to its insulating character, fluorinated graphene serves as a passivation layer, contact buffer and etch stop in van der Waals heterostructures, enabling high-performance nanoelectronic devices. Moreover, the material displays solvent-tunable polaronic spin states under ultraviolet illumination, suggesting utility in molecular sensing and magneto-optical systems. Recent progress in site-selective functionalisation, memristive devices and field-effect transistors highlights its versatility across flexible electronics, sensing, energy storage and advanced computing architectures.

Research from Nature Portfolio

Studies have elucidated the stability and electronic structure of fluorinated graphene with varying degrees of fluorination. Investigations into the configuration of double-sided fluorinated monolayers revealed significantly lower formation energies and enhanced resistance to defect formation under electron or thermal irradiation, affirming their suitability for durable electronic components. First-principles analyses of halogenated graphene at different coverage levels demonstrated that high fluorine concentrations convert graphene into a middle-gap semiconductor, while specific adatom distributions can induce metallic ferromagnetism via orbital hybridisation. Localised irradiation methods combined with XeF₂ exposure have achieved precise site-selective fluorination, enabling patterned functionalisation without resists and opening avenues for customisable graphene-based nanoelectromechanical systems and multilayer device architectures.

Fluorinated Graphene Properties and Applications publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in fluorinated graphene properties and applications across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Band gap: The energy difference between the valence and conduction bands in a material, determining its electrical conductivity.

sp³ hybridisation: The mixing of one s and three p atomic orbitals to form four equivalent hybrid orbitals, leading to tetrahedral bonding geometry.

Polaron: A quasiparticle consisting of an electron or hole coupled with a lattice deformation, affecting charge transport and magnetic properties.

Memristor: A two-terminal device whose resistance depends on the history of voltage and current, enabling non-volatile memory behaviour.

Passivation layer: A thin insulating film applied to a semiconductor surface to protect it from environmental degradation and to modify interface properties.

References

1. Solvent Controlled Generation of Spin Active Polarons in Two-Dimensional Material under UV Light Irradiation. Journal of the American Chemical Society (2024).
2. Atomically precise graphene etch stops for three dimensional integrated systems from two dimensional material heterostructures. Nature Communications (2018).
3. Electronic and optical properties of reduced graphene oxide. Journal of Materials Chemistry C (2015).
4. Site-selective local fluorination of graphene induced by focused ion beam irradiation. Scientific Reports (2016).
5. Coverage-dependent essential properties of halogenated graphene: A DFT study. Scientific Reports (2017).
6. Ultra-strong stability of double-sided fluorinated monolayer graphene and its electrical property characterization. Scientific Reports (2020).
7. Fluorinated Graphene Contacts and Passivation Layer for MoS2 Field Effect Transistors. Advanced Electronic Materials (2022).
8. Memristive FG–PVA Structures Fabricated with the Use of High Energy Xe Ion Irradiation. Materials (2022).