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Low‐Temperature Synthesis of Graphene by ICP‐Assisted Amorphous Carbon Sputtering
Author(s) -
Ye Xing,
Zhou Haiping,
Levchenko Igor,
Bazaka Kateryna,
Xu Shuyan,
Xiao Shaoqing
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
chemistryselect
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.437
H-Index - 34
ISSN - 2365-6549
DOI - 10.1002/slct.201800911
Subject(s) - graphene , materials science , raman spectroscopy , annealing (glass) , sputtering , chemical engineering , amorphous solid , amorphous carbon , raman scattering , inductively coupled plasma , nanotechnology , analytical chemistry (journal) , plasma , thin film , metallurgy , chemistry , crystallography , optics , chromatography , physics , engineering , quantum mechanics
Efficient and affordable synthesis of graphene at low temperatures remains a significant challenge that potentially limits the use of this material in real‐life applications. We describe here a simple, efficient, highly controllable technique to synthesize graphene by sputtering carbon from a solid source with the assistance of inductively coupled plasma (ICP), followed by controllable low‐temperature annealing at about 550 o C. Raman scattering and X‐ray diffraction characterizations have revealed the formation of a few layer graphene of high quality, confirmed by a low (∼0.48) I D /I G ratio. Raman analysis of samples formed at various annealing temperatures has revealed an upper limit for annealing temperature of 585 o C, beyond which the formed graphene reversibly dissolves in the metal. The ICP‐assisted process was innovatively employed to improve the quality of thus‐fabricated graphene at low temperatures. The mechanism of graphene formation was attributed to the metal induced graphitization in combination with the carbon precipitation onto the catalyst surface.