Fast growth of large single-crystalline graphene assisted by sequential double oxygen passivation

Abstract

Graphene has been considered an extraordinary platform for electronic applications, while it still remains a challenge to fast synthesize large single-crystalline graphene (LSCG) for widespread use. Since the adsorption energy of single carbon on the substrate plays an important role in the nucleation and growth of graphene, we have considered adjusting its adsorption energy to synthesize LSCG. Here, our density functional theory (DFT) calculations expose that oxygen can significantly reduce (∼1.03 eV) the adsorption energy of single carbon on oxygen-covered Cu compared with the bare Cu. Motivated by the calculation result that oxygen can induce weaker carbon adsorption energy, the sequential double oxygen passivation method through chemical vapor deposition is proposed to successfully grow the millimeter-scale single-crystalline graphene with the rate of about 100 μm min−1. This approach could provide a new sight into fast synthesizing LSCG facilely and economically.