Growth of graphene on stainless steel by chemical vapor deposition using soybean oil as a carbon source

Abstract

Graphene is a 2-dimension material which consists of carbon atoms arranged in a flat honeycomb lattice. Graphene has many outstanding properties such as high electron mobility, superb strength, and great flexibility. Although graphene film can be fabricated by economical method such as chemical vapor deposition, the utilization of flammable gas (such as methane, acetylene) in the graphene growth process is still dangerous therefore the safe flammable gas storage and gas line installation are needed. Soybean oil is available vegetable oil which contains carbon, hydrogen and oxygen. Utilization of soybean oil as a carbon source instead of hydrocarbon gas for graphene growth by chemical vapor deposition can avoid an explosion of flammable gas and save the installation cost of gas system. However, the presence of oxygen in soybean oil may obstruct the growth of graphene by chemical vapor deposition. Fortunately, annealing stainless steel with carbon at high temperature can eliminate oxygen from the surface. In this study, the growth of graphene on stainless steel by chemical vapor deposition using soybean oil as a carbon source has been study. The presence and quality of graphene are investigated by Raman spectroscopy. The morphology and element analysis are measured using scanning electron microscope and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, respectively.