Laser Ablation of the Flexible Graphite: A New Way to Create a Graphene‐Based Flexible Substrate

Abstract

The morphological and structural changes of an ablated flexible graphite in air and acetone ablation environments are studied here. From field emission scanning electron microscopy images, vertically aligned graphene nanosheets are found on the surface of ablated target in acetone. Measured ablation depth values for the ablated target in water are generally higher than those for the ablated target in air. X‐ray diffraction analysis reveals that the (002) peak position and full‐width at half‐maximum of this peak in the ablated flexible graphite in the air increase. The gap between the highest occupied molecular orbitals and the lowest unoccupied molecular orbitals, i.e., the bandgap of the ablated target, indicating that the energy bandgap of the ablated target in two ablation media increased compared to the nonirradiated target. Raman analysis from different points of the surface of the ablated target in both ablation media demonstrates the presence of bulk defects on the ablated target in the air, instead the edge defects are found for the ablated target in acetone. From Raman spectra, there are no single‐layer graphene nanosheets pinned on the surface of the target in acetone.