Stability of Graphene Growth on CuNi Thin Films in a High-Temperature Hydrogen/Oxygen Atmosphere

Abstract

Growing graphene on metal thin films, especially Cu or CuNi thin films, has become an efficient way to obtain large single-crystal graphene. Most studies focus on the epitaxial growth of graphene, but the effects of defects, such as wrinkles and point defects, on graphene stability are rarely explored. In this work, we mainly focus on the distribution of wrinkles and point defects to study the stability of graphene growth on CuNi thin films. It is found that graphene grown on a CuNi thin film shows the same peripheral etching phenomena other than central etching holes or wrinkle stripes whether it is cooled or not. Raman and TEM studies show that the graphene has high quality. We believe that graphene grown on a CuNi thin film has few wrinkles and point defects. Thus, the results show that graphene grown on a CuNi thin film is more stable than graphene grown on a Cu foil in a high-temperature hydrogen and air environment.