Controlled Nucleation of Graphene Domains on Copper With an Oxide Layer by Atmospheric Pressure Chemical Vapor Deposition

Abstract

The lack of effective control of the defects and layers of graphene restricts its advanced technological applications. The synthesis of high-quality graphene requires a low nucleation density. Through the pre-oxidation of a copper foil and subsequent annealing to reduce the atmosphere at different times, the effect of the surface variation on the nucleation density of graphene domains are discussed, as well as the effects on the domain size. The obtained domain is a combination of a sub-millimeter-size single-crystal graphene layer and thick multilayer graphene branches. The formation mechanism of the special structure was explored, as the accumulation of carbon atoms at the surface impurities with the help of oxygen. These results provide directions for the synthesis of controllable high-quality graphene films.