The growth behavior of graphene on iron-trichloride-solution-soaked copper substrates in a low pressure chemical vapor deposition

Abstract

A copper substrate soaking-treatment with FeCl₃ solution is introduced to significantly reduce the initial nucleation density of graphene (up to 6-fold from 0.29 to 0.05 μm⁻²), and the overall graphene coverage increase-rate is successfully increased. The reduction in nucleation density is attributed to the oxidization of copper by treatment with the FeCl₃ solution according to the X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy results. The soaking-treatment results in a rougher surface and consequently significant surface morphology rebuilding during the chemical vapor deposition. Pretreatment of copper substrate by soaking in FeCl₃ solution is a simple and economical approach to control graphene growth. Most importantly, the technique is compatible with the common patterning technique of graphene.