Tailoring chemical and physical properties of graphene-added DNA hybrid thin films

While the characteristics of DNA and graphene are well studied, the chemical and physical properties of graphene-embedded DNA and cetyltrimethyl-ammonium chloride-modified DNA (CT-DNA) hybrid thin films (HTFs) have been rarely discussed due to the limited development of fabrication methodologies. Herein, we developed a simple drop-casting method for constructing DNA and CT-DNA HTFs added with graphene nanopowder (GNP). Additionally, we demonstrated their distinct characteristics, such as their structure, elemental composition, spin states and chemical functional groups, binding interactions, vibration/stretching modes by UV–Vis absorption, PL, and electrical measurements. The EDS spectra of GNP-added DNA HTFs showed C, N, O, Na, and P peaks at characteristic energies. Because of the physical adsorption of GNP on DNA, the peak shifts and suppression of the core spectra of O 1s and P 2p were observed by XPS. The intensity variation of Raman and FTIR bands indicated hybrid formation of GNP in DNA and CT-DNA through adsorption, electrostatic interaction, and π–π stacking. UV–Vis absorption and PL spectra showed the considerable influence of GNP in DNA and CT-DNA HTFs. DNA and CT-DNA HTFs with relatively higher [GNP] showed significant increases of current due to the formation of interconnected networks of GNP in the DNA and CT-DNA HTFs. •DNA and CTMA-DNA thin films with graphene are constructed by a drop-casting.•Distinct characteristics of DNA and CTMA-DNA thin films with graphene are studied.•The significance of optical spectroscopy and PL characteristics are discussed.•Applications of DNA and CTMA-DNA thin films are addressed.