Note: Continuous synthesis of uniform vertical graphene on cylindrical surfaces

Zheng Bo; Shumao Cui; Kehan Yu; Ganhua Lu; Shun Mao; Junhong Chen

doi:10.1063/1.3624842

Note: Continuous synthesis of uniform vertical graphene on cylindrical surfaces

Rev Sci Instrum. 2011 Aug;82(8):086116. doi: 10.1063/1.3624842.

Authors

Zheng Bo¹, Shumao Cui, Kehan Yu, Ganhua Lu, Shun Mao, Junhong Chen

Affiliation

¹ Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53211, USA.

PMID: 21895294
DOI: 10.1063/1.3624842

Abstract

This note describes a new reactor design for continuous synthesis of vertically oriented graphene (VG) sheets on cylindrical wire substrates using an atmospheric plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) system. Through combining a U-shaped reactor design with "dynamic mode" synthesis featuring simultaneous rotational and axial movements of the metallic wire substrate, the new setup can enable continuous synthesis of VG sheets on the wire surface with remarkable uniformity in both circumferential and axial directions. In contrast, synthesis of VG at "static mode" with a fixed substrate can only lead to non-uniform growth of VG sheets on the wire surface. Potential applications of the resulting uniform-VG-coated metallic wire could include field emitters, field-ionization-based neutral atom detectors, and indoor corona discharges.