Studies of the Chemical Vapor Deposition Method of Generating Graphene

Abstract

Since the pioneering report of the discovery of graphene in 2004 by Novoselov et al, scientists and researchers worldwide have carried out in depth investigations in this new family of carbon because of its myriad properties and potential applications. The synthesis of the novel nanoscale material is the main target in current material science.

This study investigates the effect of different types of cabon source and catalyst for the production of large area, single/few crystalline layer of graphene via chemical vapour deposition (CVD) method. Four types of carbon source i.e. acetylene, methane ethylene and benzene were used for the synthesis of graphene. The catalysts used in the synthesis of graphene are cobalt and nickel. The as-synthesized graphene were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM),field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), Raman spectroscopy and atomic force microscopy (AFM).

This analysis also confirmed that all the prepared catalysts were active for the production of graphene. SEM/FESEM analysis revealed good morphologies of graphene formed with different catalysts and carbon source. Raman spectra revealed that benzene might be a better precursor to produce graphene based on the positions of the G-band and 2D-band peaks.

In Generally, this research has been successful in producing graphene from different hydrocarbon sources depending on the catalysts used