The impact of interdigitated metal electrode on properties and performance of electrochemically reduced graphene oxide (ErGO) UV photodetector

• Published in: Journal of Materials Science: Materials in Electronics
• Main Author: Khairudin N.; Mamat M.H.; Ab Kadir R.; Abdul Rani R.; Ilias M.H.; Manut A.; Zoolfakar A.S.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Springer 2024
• Online Access: https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85182180686&doi=10.1007%2fs10854-023-11873-x&partnerID=40&md5=47a8463a981d32f2598c9ed0083556d6

Due to its unique electrical and optical properties, reduced graphene oxide (rGO) is a promising material for photodetector applications. However, one major issue is the variability in the reduction process, which can result in rGO with varying levels of reduction, structural and electrical properties. The variability can impact photodetector performance, leading to inconsistent results and limiting the widespread adoption of rGO as a photodetector material. Furthermore, the production of rGO with superior characteristics often incurs significant expenses and time constraints, thereby constraining its potential for widespread implementation. In our study, we reported a green reduced graphene oxide approach with a simple and cost-effective method to investigate the UV photo detector properties and performance of Au, Cu, Ag, and Pt with 5 μm IDE width spacing via electrochemical deposition method. The removal of oxygen from functional groups and resulted in chemical structural changes during reduction process were carried out to characterize the photo-response properties and electrochemical behavior of the device. The selection of the metallic interdigitated has the potential to affect the charge transfer mechanism between reduced graphene oxide (rGO) and the metal, resulting in different levels of ionic conductivity and electron transfer. Variations in the quantity of rGO deposited onto the metal substrate can result in discrepancies in the surface area and coverage of rGO on the metal. The observed disparities may potentially influence the electrical conductivity and sensitivity of the produced UV photodetector. The rGO-Au has shown a higher level of sensitivity compared to Cu, Ag, and Pt, with an increase in sensitivity by a factor of 7 compared to rGO/Cu, 3 times higher than rGO-Ag, and twice higher than rGO/Pt at a low working voltage of 0.4 V. Furthermore, rGO/Au also demonstrates remarkable ionic conductivity, surpassing that of rGO/Cu by a factor of 8500, primarily attributed to its significantly lower charge transfer resistance, resulting superior electrical performance. In fact, rGO/Au exhibits favorable switching characteristics in comparison to other metals. The results of the investigation demonstrated that rGO/Au exhibits superior suitability as a UV photodetector. © 2024, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.