Low-temperature synthesis of large-area graphene-based carbon films on Ni

Liqiang Lu, J.T.M. De Hosson, Yutao Pei*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

18 Citations (Scopus)
179 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

In this work, large-area graphene-based carbon films were synthesized through a fast and low-temperature method. The processing route is illustrated on a free surface of Ni catalyst film by vacuum thermal processing of amorphous carbon. Key in the novel approach is that the synthesis is done at low temperatures, i.e. below 350 °C, and within a time as short as 1 min. The nucleation and growth of graphene on the free surface of nickel and along the interface between Ni film and SiO2 substrate are investigated by using a thin film Ni-C-Ni sandwiched structure on a SiO2/Si substrate. Raman spectroscopy demonstrates that the graphene-based carbon films consist of graphitic carbon rich of defects. HR-TEM observations reveal that the graphene-based carbon film grown on the top free surface is composed of thin multilayer graphene segments (3–6 atomic layers) and thick multilayer graphene segments (more than atomic 10 layers), covering the entire surface of Ni film over a large area. Growth parameters such as growth time, growth temperature and carbon/Ni ratio are reported in detail for a control of graphene growth kinetics. The results point at several attractive strategies for the facile synthesis of graphene-based carbon films for industrial applications.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)245-255
Number of pages11
JournalMaterials & design
Volume144
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 15-Apr-2018

Keywords

  • Graphene film
  • Growth behavior
  • Nickel
  • Low temperature
  • Microscopy

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