Growing poly(N -vinylcarbazole) from the surface of graphene oxide via RAFT polymerization

A new approach on usage of S-1-dodecyl-S'-(α,α'-dimethyl-α"-acetic acid)trithiocarbonate (DDAT)-covalently functionalized graphene oxide (GO) as reversible addition fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) agent for growing of poly(N-vinylcarbazole) (PVK) directly from the surface of GO was described. The PVK polymer covalently grafted onto GO has M n of 8.05 x 10 3 , and a polydispersity of 1.43. The resulting material PVK-GO shows a good solubility in organic solvents when compared to GO, and a significant energy bandgap of ~2.49 eV. Bistable electrical switching and nonvolatile rewritable memory effect, with a turn-on voltage of about -1.7 V and an ON/OFF state current ratio in excess of 10 3 , are demonstrated in the AI/PVK-GO/ITO structure.