Approaching the Intrinsic Bandgap in Suspended High-Mobility Graphene Nanoribbons

TL;DR

This study demonstrates that suspended high-mobility graphene nanoribbons exhibit an intrinsic bandgap consistent with theoretical predictions, highlighting the role of magnetic zigzag edges in non-armchair GNRs.

Contribution

First experimental observation of intrinsic bandgap in suspended high-mobility graphene nanoribbons aligned with theoretical models.

Findings

Mobility exceeds 3000 cm² V⁻¹ s⁻¹

Bandgap matches electronic-structure calculations

Magnetic zigzag edges contribute to bandgap formation

Abstract

We report electrical transport measurements on a suspended ultra-low-disorder graphene nanoribbon(GNR) with nearly atomically smooth edges that reveal a high mobility exceeding 3000 cm2 V-1 s-1 and an intrinsic band gap. The experimentally derived bandgap is in quantitative agreement with the results of our electronic-structure calculations on chiral GNRs with comparable width taking into account the electron-electron interactions, indicating that the origin of the bandgap in non-armchair GNRs is partially due to the magnetic zigzag edges.