Large-Area Synthesis of Superclean Graphene via Selective Etching of Amorphous Carbon with Carbon Dioxide

Jincan Zhang; Kaicheng Jia; Li Lin; Wei Zhao; Huy Ta Quang; Luzhao Sun; Tianran Li; Zhenzhu Li; Xiaoting Liu; Liming Zheng; Ruiwen Xue; Jing Gao; Zhengtang Luo; Mark H Rummeli; Qinghong Yuan; Hailin Peng; Zhongfan Liu

doi:10.1002/anie.201905672

Large-Area Synthesis of Superclean Graphene via Selective Etching of Amorphous Carbon with Carbon Dioxide

Angew Chem Int Ed Engl. 2019 Oct 7;58(41):14446-14451. doi: 10.1002/anie.201905672. Epub 2019 Aug 7.

Authors

Jincan Zhang^{1

2}, Kaicheng Jia¹, Li Lin¹, Wei Zhao³, Huy Ta Quang⁴, Luzhao Sun^{1

2}, Tianran Li¹, Zhenzhu Li⁵, Xiaoting Liu^{1

2}, Liming Zheng¹, Ruiwen Xue⁶, Jing Gao⁵, Zhengtang Luo⁶, Mark H Rummeli^{4

5

7}, Qinghong Yuan³, Hailin Peng^{1

8}, Zhongfan Liu^{1

8}

Affiliations

¹ Center for Nanochemistry, Beijing Science and Engineering Center for Nanocarbons, Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, P. R. China.
² Academy for Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, P. R. China.
³ State Key Laboratory of Precision Spectroscopy, School of Physics and Material Science, East China Normal University, Shanghai, 200062, P. R. China.
⁴ IFW Dresden, D-01171, Dresden, Germany.
⁵ Soochow Institute for Energy and Materials InnovationS, Soochow University, Suzhou, 215006, P. R. China.
⁶ Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Hong Kong, SAR, 999077, P. R. China.
⁷ Centre of Polymer and Carbon Materials, Polish Academy of Sciences, M. Curie-Sklodowskiej 34, Zabrze, 41-819, Poland.
⁸ Beijing Graphene Institute, Beijing, 100095, P. R. China.

PMID: 31286615
DOI: 10.1002/anie.201905672

Abstract

Contamination commonly observed on the graphene surface is detrimental to its excellent properties and strongly hinders its application. It is still a great challenge to produce large-area clean graphene film in a low-cost manner. Herein, we demonstrate a facile and scalable chemical vapor deposition approach to synthesize meter-sized samples of superclean graphene with an average cleanness of 99 %, relying on the weak oxidizing ability of CO₂ to etch away the intrinsic contamination, i.e., amorphous carbon. Remarkably, the elimination of amorphous carbon enables a significant reduction of polymer residues in the transfer of graphene films and the fabrication of graphene-based devices and promises strongly enhanced electrical and optical properties of graphene. The facile synthesis of large-area superclean graphene would open the pathway for both fundamental research and industrial applications of graphene, where a clean surface is highly needed.

Keywords: carbon dioxide; chemical vapor deposition; graphene; selective etching.

Abstract

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