Tailoring the synthesis of graphene and other 2D materials towards applications

Abstract:: This thesis focuses on using Chemical Vapour Deposition (CVD) technique to produce various classes of flat 2D materials and also their three-dimensional architectures. Graphene, hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) and tungsten disulfide (WS₂) are the main examples presented in the study: a conductor, an insulator and a semiconductor respectively. Such materials are elementary "building blocks" in a variety of applications. Many novel advances to CVD synthesis of 2D materials are identified, developed and discussed in this thesis.

Language:: English
Keywords:: Nanomaterials

Metal chalcogenides

Chemical vapor deposition

Nanotechnology

Graphene

Hexagonal boron nitride
Subjects:: Chemical vapor deposition

Materials

Physics
UUID:: uuid:0130dcb8-74e2-4624-95e5-5412c9a69c0d
Deposit date:: 2016-07-19

Related item:: Rapid epitaxy-free graphene synthesis on silicidated polycrystalline platinum
Description:: Large-area synthesis of high-quality graphene by chemical vapour deposition on metallic substrates requires polishing or substrate grain enlargement followed by a lengthy growth period. Here we demonstrate a novel substrate processing method for facile synthesis of mm-sized, single-crystal graphene by coating polycrystalline platinum foils with a silicon-containing film. The film reacts with platinum on heating, resulting in the formation of a liquid platinum silicide layer that screens the platinum lattice and fills topographic defects. This reduces the dependence on the surface properties of the catalytic substrate, improving the crystallinity, uniformity and size of graphene domains. At elevated temperatures growth rates of more than an order of magnitude higher (120 μm min−1) than typically reported are achieved, allowing savings in costs for consumable materials, energy and time. This generic technique paves the way for using a whole new range of eutectic substrates for the large-area synthesis of 2D materials.

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Thesis