In-situ carboxylation of graphene by chemical vapor deposition growth for biosensing

Abstract A new approach for in-situ specific functionalization of graphene with carboxylic groups through a single-step growth is presented. Depending on the fabrication parameters, it is possible to synthesize functionalized single layer or multilayer graphene. The homogeneity and functionalization degree are evaluated combining micro-Raman and XPS spectroscopies. The obtained COOH content reaches around 5%, similar to the values obtained by the other methods but with significantly lower contents of the other oxygen groups (carbonyl and hydroxyl) and of other sp 3 defects which are detrimental for electronic transport. The obtained COOH- functionalized single-layer graphene presents optimum values of the sheet resistance, around 8 kΩ, and high mobility, around 800 cm 2 V −1 s −1 . Anchoring of antibodies is demonstrated through the immobilization of IgG1–FITC by the carbodiimide method, showing that these COOH- functionalized single-layer graphene can be very promising materials for electronic sensing applications.