Abstract
Graphene is currently one of the most extensively studied materials because it displays a number of unique structural and electronic properties. A variety of methods are currently available for the growth of graphene; however, few are viable for large scale, cost-effective production of high quality graphene. Here, a novel growth process for few layer graphene using chemical vapor deposition (CVD) and a commercial iron nanopowder catalyst is described. This method is readily scalable so it can be used to produce a large volume of graphene sheets. Graphene sheets made from this process were characterized by Raman spectroscopy, and scanning and transmission electron microscopy. Raman spectroscopy shows that the product consists of few layer graphene sheets. This is the first reported method of utilizing nanoparticles to synthesize graphene by a CVD process, which typically produces multiwalled carbon nanotubes. A possible mechanism for the formation of graphene by this modified CVD process is discussed.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
K.S. Novoselov, A.K. Geim, S.V. Morozov, D. Jiang, Y. Zhang, S.V. Dubonos, I.V. Grigorieval, and A.A. Firsov: Electric field effect in atomically thin carbon films. Science 306, 666 (2004).
Nobelprize.Org: The Nobel Prize in Physics 2010. [cited 31, Aug 2012]; Available from:http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/2010/ (2010).
A.K. Geim and K.S. Novoselov: The rise of graphene. Nat. Mater. 6, 183 (2007).
Z. Chen, W. Ren, B. Liu, L. Gao, S. Pei, Z-S. Wu, J. Zhao, and H-M. Cheng: Bulk growth of mono- to few-layer graphene on nickel particles by chemical vapor deposition from methane. Carbon 48, 3543 (2010).
M. Losurdo, M.M. Giangregorio, P. Capezzuto, and G. Bruno: Graphene CVD growth on copper and nickel: Role of hydrogen in kinetics and structure. Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys. 14, 13 (2011).
A. Reina, S. Thiele, X. Jia, S. Bhaviripudi, M.S. Dresselhaus, J.A. Schaefer, and J. Kong: Growth of large-area single and Bi-layer graphene by controlled carbon precipitation on polycrystalline Ni surfaces. Nano Res. 2, 509 (2009).
C. Mattevi, H. Kim, and M. Chhowalla: A review of chemical vapor deposition of graphene on copper. J. Mater. Chem. 21, 3324 (2010).
K.S. Kim, Y. Zhao, H. Jang, S.Y. Lee, J.M. Kim, K.S. Kim, J-H. Ahn, P. Kim, J-Y. Choi, and B.H. Hong: Large-scale pattern growth of graphene films for stretchable transparent electrodes. Nature 457, 706 (2008).
N.A. Vinogradov, A.A. Zakharov, V. Kocevskil, J. Ruszl, K.A. Simonov, O. Eriksson, A. Mikkelsen, E. Lundgren, A.S. Vinogradov, N. Mårtensson, and A.B. Preobrajenski: Formation and structure of graphene waves on Fe(110). Phys. Rev. Lett. 109, 026101 (2012).
H. An, W-J. Lee, and J. Jung: Graphene synthesis on Fe foil using thermal CVD. Curr. Appl. Phys. 11, S81 (2011).
A.S. Khan, Y.S. Suh, X. Chen, L. Takacs, and H. Zhang: Nanocrystalline aluminum and iron: Mechanical behavior at quasi-static and high strain rates, and constitutive modeling. Int. J. Plast. 22, 195 (2006).
A. Goyal, D.A. Wiegand, F.J. Owens, and Z. Iqbal: Enhanced yield strength in iron nanocomposite with in situ grown single-wall carbon nanotubes. J. Mater. Res. 21, 522 (2005).
A. Goyal, D.A. Wiegand, F.J. Owens, and Z. Iqbal: Synthesis of carbide-free, high strength iron-carbon nanotube composite by in situ nanotube growth. Chem. Phys. Lett. 442, 365 (2007).
A. Goyal: New approaches to scaled-up carbon nanotube synthesis and nanotube-based metal composites and sensors. PhD Dissertation, New Jersey Institute of Technology, 2006.
R.B. Patel, J. Liu, S. Roy, S. Mitra, R.N. Dave, and Z. Iqbal: Formation of stainless steel–carbon nanotube composites using a scalable chemical vapor infiltration process. J. Mater. Sci. 48, 1387 (2013).
R.B. Patel, J. Liu, J. Eng, and Z. Iqbal: One-step CVD synthesis of a boron nitride nanotube-iron composite. J. Mater. Res. 26, 1332 (2011).
A.C. Ferrari, J.C. Meyer, V. Scardaci, C. Casiraghi, M. Lazzeri, F. Mauri, S. Piscanec, D. Jiang, K.S. Novoselov, S. Roth, and A.K. Geim: Raman spectrum of graphene and graphene layers. Phys. Rev. Lett. 97, 187401 (2006).
A.C. Ferrari and D.M. Basko: Raman spectroscopy as a versatile tool for studying the properties of graphene.Nat. Nanotechnol. 8, 235 (2013).
D. Graf, F. Molitor, K. Ensslin, C. Stampfer, A. Jungen, C. Hierold, and L. Wirtz: Spatially resolved Raman spectroscopy of single- and few-layer graphene. Nano Lett. 7, 238–242 (2007).
C. Casiraghi, S. Pisana, K.S. Novoselov, A.K. Geim, and A.C. Ferrari: Raman fingerprint of charged impurities in graphene. Appl. Phys. Lett. 91, 233108 (2007).
D.M. Basko: Theory of resonant multiphonon Raman scattering in graphene. Phys. Rev. B 78, 125418 (2008).
L.M. Malard, M.A. Pimenta, G. Dresselhaus, and M.S. Dresselhaus: Raman spectroscopy in graphene. Phys. Rep. 473, 51 (2009).
M.J. Matthews, M.A. Pimenta, G. Dresselhaus, M.S. Dresselhaus, and M. Endo: Origin of dispersive effects of the Raman D band in carbon materials. Phys. Rev. B 59, R6585 (1999).
R.B. Patel: Synthesis and characterization of novel boron-based nanostructures and composites. PhD Dissertation, New Jersey Institute of Technology, 2013.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
This work was supported by the US Army, ARDEC under contract W15QKN-10-D-0503-0002 and performed in the Iqbal group at the Chemistry and Environmental Science Department of the New Jersey Institute of Technology.24 One of us (CY) was supported by CarboMet LLC.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Supplementary Material
To view supplementary material for this article, please visit http://dx.doi.org/jmr.2014.165.
Supplemental Information
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Patel, R.B., Yu, C., Chou, T. et al. Novel synthesis route to graphene using iron nanoparticles. Journal of Materials Research 29, 1522–1527 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1557/jmr.2014.165
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1557/jmr.2014.165