Yield and shape selection of graphene nanoislands grown on Ni(111)

Graphene single crystals: size and morphology engineering

Recently developed chemical vapor deposition (CVD) is considered as an effective way to large-area and high-quality graphene preparation due to its ultra-low cost, high controllability, and high scalability. However, CVD-grown graphene film is polycrystalline, and composed of numerous grains separated by grain boundaries, which are detrimental to graphene-based electronics. Intensive investigations have been inspired on the controlled growth of graphene single crystals with the absence of intrinsic defects. As the two most concerned parameters, the size and morphology serve critical roles in affecting properties and understanding the growth mechanism of graphene crystals. Therefore, a precise tuning of the size and morphology will be of great significance in scale-up graphene production and wide applications. Here, recent advances in the synthesis of graphene single crystals on both metals and dielectric substrates by the CVD method are discussed. The review mainly covers the size and morphology engineering of graphene single crystals. Furthermore, recent progress in the growth mechanism and device applications of graphene single crystals are presented. Finally, the opportunities and challenges are discussed.

Breaking of symmetry in graphene growth on metal substrates

In graphene growth, island symmetry can become lower than the intrinsic symmetries of both graphene and the substrate. First-principles calculations and Monte Carlo modeling explain the shapes observed in our experiments and earlier studies for various metal surface symmetries. For equilibrium shape, edge energy variations δE manifest in distorted hexagons with different ground-state edge structures. In growth or nucleation, energy variation enters exponentially as ∼e(δE/k(B)T), strongly amplifying the symmetry breaking, up to completely changing the shapes to triangular, ribbonlike, or rhombic.

Temperature-driven changes of the graphene edge structure on Ni(111): substrate vs hydrogen passivation

Atomic-scale description of the structure of graphene edges on Ni(111), both during and post growth, is obtained by scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) in combination with density functional theory (DFT). During growth, at 470 °C, fast STM images (250 ms/image) evidence graphene flakes anchored to the substrate, with the edges exhibiting zigzag or Klein structure depending on the orientation. If growth is frozen, the flake edges hydrogenate and detach from the substrate, with hydrogen reconstructing the Klein edges.

Controllable synthesis of graphene using novel aromatic 1,3,5-triethynylbenzene molecules on Rh(111)

1,3,5-Triethynylbenzene is selected as carbon precursor for graphene synthesis on Rh(111). The temperature-programmed annealing and direct annealing growth pathways are designed to synthesize high-quality graphene.

Edge structures for nanoscale graphene islands on Co(0001) surfaces

Low-temperature scanning tunneling microscopy measurements and first-principles calculations are employed to characterize edge structures observed for graphene nanoislands grown on the Co(0001) surface. Images of these nanostructures reveal straight well-ordered edges with zigzag orientation, which are characterized by a distinct peak at low bias in tunneling spectra. Density functional theory based calculations are used to discriminate between candidate edge structures. Several zigzag-oriented edge structures have lower formation energy than armchair-oriented edges. Of these, the lowest formation energy configurations are a zigzag and a Klein edge structure, each with the final carbon atom over the hollow site in the Co(0001) surface. In the absence of hydrogen, the interaction with the Co(0001) substrate plays a key role in stabilizing these edge structures and determines their local conformation and electronic properties. The calculated electronic properties for the low-energy edge structures are consistent with the measured scanning tunneling images.

In situ fabrication of quasi-free-standing epitaxial graphene nanoflakes on gold

Addressing the multitude of electronic phenomena theoretically predicted for confined graphene structures requires appropriate in situ fabrication procedures yielding graphene nanoflakes (GNFs) with well-defined geometries and accessible electronic properties. Here, we present a simple strategy to fabricate quasi-free-standing GNFs of variable sizes, performing temperature programmed growth of graphene flakes on the Ir(111) surface and subsequent intercalation of gold. Using scanning tunneling microscopy (STM), we show that epitaxial GNFs on a perfectly ordered Au(111) surface are formed while maintaining an unreconstructed, singly hydrogen-terminated edge structure, as confirmed by the accompanying density functional theory (DFT) calculations. Using tip-induced lateral displacement of GNFs, we demonstrate that GNFs on Au(111) are to a large extent decoupled from the Au(111) substrate. The direct accessibility of the electronic states of a single GNF is demonstrated upon analysis of the quasiparticle interference patterns obtained by low-temperature STM. These findings open up an interesting playground for diverse investigations of graphene nanostructures with possible implications for device fabrication.

Chemical vapor deposition of graphene single crystals

As a two-dimensional (2D) sp(2)-bonded carbon allotrope, graphene has attracted enormous interest over the past decade due to its unique properties, such as ultrahigh electron mobility, uniform broadband optical absorption and high tensile strength. In the initial research, graphene was isolated from natural graphite, and limited to small sizes and low yields. Recently developed chemical vapor deposition (CVD) techniques have emerged as an important method for the scalable production of large-size and high-quality graphene for various applications. However, CVD-derived graphene is polycrystalline and demonstrates degraded properties induced by grain boundaries. Thus, the next critical step of graphene growth relies on the synthesis of large graphene single crystals. In this Account, we first discuss graphene grain boundaries and their influence on graphene's properties. Mechanical and electrical behaviors of CVD-derived polycrystalline graphene are greatly reduced when compared to that of exfoliated graphene. We then review four representative pathways of pretreating Cu substrates to make millimeter-sized monolayer graphene grains: electrochemical polishing and high-pressure annealing of Cu substrate, adding of additional Cu enclosures, melting and resolidfying Cu substrates, and oxygen-rich Cu substrates. Due to these pretreatments, the nucleation site density on Cu substrates is greatly reduced, resulting in hexagonal-shaped graphene grains that show increased grain domain size and comparable electrical properties as to exfoliated graphene. Also, the properties of graphene can be engineered by its shape, thickness and spatial structure. Thus, we further discuss recently developed methods of making graphene grains with special spatial structures, including snowflakes, six-lobed flowers, pyramids and hexagonal graphene onion rings. The fundamental growth mechanism and practical applications of these well-shaped graphene structures should be interesting topics and deserves more attention in the near future. Following that, recent efforts in fabricating large single-crystal monolayer graphene on other metal substrates, including Ni, Pt, and Ru, are also described. The differences in growth conditions reveal different growth mechanisms on these metals. Another key challenge for graphene growth is to make graphene single crystals on insulating substrates, such as h-BN, SiO2, and ceramic. The recently developed plasma-enhanced CVD method can be used to directly synthesize graphene single crystals on h-BN substrates and is described in this Account as well. To summarize, recent research in synthesizing millimeter-sized monolayer graphene grains with different pretreatments, graphene grain shapes, metal catalysts, and substrates is reviewed. Although great advancements have been achieved in CVD synthesis of graphene single crystals, potential challenges still exist, such as the growth of wafer-sized graphene single crystals to further facilitate the fabrication of graphene-based devices, as well as a deeper understanding of graphene growth mechanisms and growth dynamics in order to make graphene grains with precisely controlled thicknesses and spatial structures.

Spin-dependent electron scattering at graphene edges on Ni(111)

We investigate the scattering of surface electrons by the edges of graphene islands grown on Ni(111). By combining local tunneling spectroscopy and ab initio electronic structure calculations we find that the hybridization between graphene and Ni states results in strongly reflecting graphene edges. Quantum interference patterns formed around the islands reveal a spin-dependent scattering of the Shockley bands of Ni, which we attribute to their distinct coupling to bulk states. Moreover, we find a strong dependence of the scattering amplitude on the atomic structure of the edges, depending on the orbital character and energy of the surface states.

Kinetics of low-pressure, low-temperature graphene growth: toward single-layer, single-crystalline structure

Graphene grown on metal catalysts with low carbon solubility is a highly competitive alternative to exfoliated and other forms of graphene, yet a single-layer, single-crystal structure remains a challenge because of the large number of randomly oriented nuclei that form grain boundaries when stitched together. A kinetic model of graphene nucleation and growth is developed to elucidate the effective controls of the graphene island density and surface coverage from the onset of nucleation to the full monolayer formation in low-pressure, low-temperature CVD. The model unprecedentedly involves the complete cycle of the elementary gas-phase and surface processes and shows a precise quantitative agreement with the recent low-energy electron diffraction measurements and also explains numerous parameter trends from a host of experimental reports. These agreements are demonstrated for a broad pressure range as well as different combinations of precursor gases and supporting catalysts. The critical role of hydrogen in controlling the graphene nucleation and monolayer formation is revealed and quantified. The model is generic and can be extended to even broader ranges of catalysts and precursor gases/pressures to enable the as yet elusive effective control of the crystalline structure and number of layers of graphene using the minimum amounts of matter and energy.