The role of single-crystal substrates in synthesis of low-dimensional materials by CVD and their applications in electrocatalysis

Abstract

Single-crystal substrates have significant influence on the chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method for preparing low-dimensional materials. This review summarizes recent advancements in CVD synthesized low-dimensional materials using single-crystal substrates. First, growth parameters of the CVD growth process such as temperature, time, carrier gas flow, and substrate are introduced. In particular, the growth mechanism of CVD is explained to show the importance of single crystal substrates. Then, this review discusses in detail the important role of single-crystal substrates in the preparation of low-dimensional materials such as aligned CNT arrays, graphene nanoribbons, graphene films, hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN), and transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs). This is the key section that elaborates on the preparation methods of single-crystal substrate materials and their significant role in the growth of low-dimensional materials. Many research results have shown that the lattice structures of the substrates affect the growth direction, morphology, quality and properties of low-dimensional materials. In particular, the step structures of high-index single-crystal substrates are helpful to the study of growth mechanisms for low-dimensional materials. The growth mechanisms are of guiding significance for the large-scale synthesis and practical application of high-quality, single-crystal low-dimensional materials. Furthermore, this review summarizes the applications of low-dimensional materials in electrocatalysis to elucidate structure–function relationships in catalytic processes. The findings demonstrate that microenvironmental catalytic systems utilizing CVD-synthesized low-dimensional materials offer an optimal platform for probing catalytic behavior. Finally, the review discusses the potential and challenges of single-crystal substrates in the large-scale, low-cost preparation of high-quality low-dimensional materials. By developing the preparation techniques of single-crystal substrates and optimizing CVD growth parameters, it is expected to improve the application prospects of low-dimensional materials in electronics, optoelectronics, and energy conversion fields.