Paul Förster1, Ihsan Amin1, Jana Kalbacova2, Raul D. Rodriguez2, Heidi Perez-Hernandez3, Andrés Lasagni3, Dietrich R.T. Zahn2, Rainer Jordan1 

1Chair of Macromolecular Chemistry, Department Chemistry, Technische Universität Dresden, 01062 Dresden, Germany

2Semiconductor Physics, Technische Universität Chemnitz, 09126 Chemnitz, Germany
3Chair for Laser Structuring in Manufacturing Technology, 01062 Dresden, Germany 

When the exceptional properties of graphene and the broad variety of the functionalities that can be introduced with polymer brushes are combined new potential applications can be possible. Consequently, numerous publications appeared recently about the functionalization of graphene oxide (GO) by atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) or functionalizing graphene via a spontaneous coupling of a diazonium salt. A disadvantage of most functionalization methods is the existence or the generation of sp3-carbon defects. This significantly affects the electronical properties of graphene. Here, we present an alternative method to functionalize graphene with stimuli-responsive polymer brushes using the self-initiated photografting and photopolymerization (SIPGP) without generating defect sites.



Paul Förster is currently a PhD student and fellow of the Nagelschneider Foundation at the chair of macromolecular chemistry at the Technische Universität Dresden, Germany. He received his M.Sc. degree in chemistry in 2013. His main interest is the functionalization of surfaces, especially graphene and other 2D materials with polymer brushes for the development of organic solar cells for renewable energy.