Graphene is an all-sp²-hybridized two-dimensional carbon nanomaterial with numerous potential applications, e.g., in electronics. However, due to the fact that graphene is a zero-bandgap semi-metallic material, it is difficult to use in semiconductor devices.

Wei Zhang, Xidian University, Xi’an, China, Qingyang Fan, Xi’an University of Architecture and Technology, China, and colleagues have designed a new graphene-like layered material with a direct bandgap. The researchers propose the existence of a new all-sp² hybridized 2D carbon allotrope: polybutadiene cyclooctatetraene framework (PBCF)-graphene (pictured). Its surface has two types of holes with diameters of 4.88 and 2.39 Å, respectively.

Density-functional theory (DFT) calculations show that the proposed PBCF-graphene has a direct bandgap and high electron mobility. The researchers also propose a possible synthesis method for PBCF-graphene: PBCF-graphene could be self-assembled by a dehydrogenation addition reaction between cyclooctatetrene and butadiene (pictured below).

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• PBCF-Graphene: A 2D sp² Hybridized Honeycomb Carbon Allotrope with a Direct Band Gap,
  Wei Zhang, Changchun Chai, Qingyang Fan, Yanxing Song, Yintang Yang,
  ChemNanoMat 2019.
  https://doi.org/10.1002/cnma.201900645