Researchers make Graphene luminescent by exposing it to a plasma of oxygen

A team of researchers from the UK and Germany have succeeded to make single layers of Graphene luminescent by exposing them to oxygen plasma.

The photoluminescence observed is uniform and extends across large areas in the layers. It is also possible to make thin hybrid structures by etching just the top layers in a sample using the plasma, while leaving underlying layers intact. "This combination of photoluminescent and conductive layers could be used in optoelectronics and sandwich light-emitting diodes," said Andrea Ferrari of Cambridge University.