Repeated fast selective growth of prepatternable monolayer graphene of electronic quality

Abstract

Pattern formation is becoming indispensable in many applications of high-quality synthetic graphene. Nevertheless, the use of multiple lithography and etching steps can often degrade the properties of graphene due to residual disorder. Here, we report a facile, selective, and recyclable method for graphene synthesis from acetylene (C2H2) via catalytic chemical vapor deposition on a bimetal catalyst (Cu–Ni alloy). The synergistic pairing of the Cu–Ni alloy and C2H2 facilitates a rapid (ca. 1 min) synthesis of high-quality graphene under an intermediate temperature condition, e.g., 800 °C, that is quite relaxed from the far-flung method based on a Cu–CH4 pair. Prepatterned Cu–Ni alloy not only produces monolayer graphene patterns without any postprocessing but is also detachable from the resultant graphene patterns electrochemically, hinting at catalyst recyclability. Our test device of an organic field-effect transistor based on the prepatterned monolayer graphene outperforms its top-down counterpart that has undergone lithography and etching. Our facile selective growth of prepatternable monolayer graphene at intermediate temperatures, along with catalyst recyclability, may altogether lend adaptability, productivity, and sustainability to graphene-incorporated applications.