Separation and Electrical Properties of Self-Organized Graphene/Graphite Layers

Abstract: Intrinsic layered structure of graphite is the source of ongoing and expanding search of ways of obtaining low-cost and promising graphite thin layers. We report on a novel method of obtaining and separating rubbed graphite sheets by using water soluble NaCl substrate. The electrical behavior of sheets was characterized by current-voltage measurements. An in-plane electrical unisotropy depending on rubbing direction is discovered. Optical microscopy observations combined with discovered non-linear electrical behavior revealed that friction leads to the formation of sheet makeup which contain an optically transparent lamina of self-organized few-layer graphene.