From graphene to carbon nanotube: The oxygen effect on the synthesis of carbon nanomaterials on nickel foil during CVD process

Abstract

In this study, we demonstrated an oxygen-assisted ultralow-pressure (20 mTorr) chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method for the synthesis of carbon nanomaterials, including multilayer graphene (MLG), double-layer graphene (DLG), single-layer graphene (SLG), and carbon nanotubes (CNTs) on a Ni foil substrate. Oxygen is typically considered undesirable to synthesize carbon nanomaterials during the CVD process. However, our study provided evidence demonstrating that the growth of MLG, DLG, SLG, and CNTs can be maintained by adjusting the oxygen concentration during the CVD process; it also provided an easy way in controlling the layer of graphene. It was observed that oxygen played an important role in controlling the synthesis of carbon nanomaterials.