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Title: Solid-state graphene formation via a nickel carbide intermediate phase [Nickel carbide (Ni3C) as an intermediate phase for graphene formation]

Journal Article · · RSC Advances
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1039/C5RA18682J· OSTI ID:1234316
 [1];  [2];  [2];  [3];  [3];  [3];  [3];  [4];  [4];  [2];  [2];  [1]
  1. Univ. of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE (United States)
  2. Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
  3. Chemistry Inst. of Condensed Matter of Bordeaux (France)
  4. Iowa State Univ., Ames, IA (United States)

Direct formation of graphene with controlled number of graphitic layers on dielectric surfaces is highly desired for practical applications. Despite significant progress achieved in understanding the formation of graphene on metallic surfaces through chemical vapor deposition (CVD) of hydrocarbons, very limited research is available elucidating the graphene formation process via rapid thermal processing (RTP) of solid-state amorphous carbon, through which graphene is formed directly on dielectric surfaces accompanied by autonomous nickel evaporation. It is suggested that a metastable hexagonal nickel carbide (Ni3C) intermediate phase plays a critical role in transforming amorphous carbon to 2D crystalline graphene and contributing to the autonomous Ni evaporation. Temperature resolved carbon and nickel evolution in the RTP process is investigated using Auger electron spectroscopic (AES) depth profiling and glancing-angle X-ray diffraction (GAXRD). Formation, migration and decomposition of the hexagonal Ni3C are confirmed to be responsible for the formation of graphene and the evaporation of Ni at 1100 °C. The Ni3C-assisted graphene formation mechanism expands the understanding of Ni-catalyzed graphene formation, and provides insightful guidance for controlled growth of graphene through the solid-state transformation process.

Research Organization:
Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States). Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences (CNMS)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC)
Grant/Contract Number:
AC05-00OR22725
OSTI ID:
1234316
Journal Information:
RSC Advances, Vol. 5; ISSN 2046-2069
Publisher:
Royal Society of ChemistryCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 37 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

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Cited By (3)

Room-temperature graphitization in a solid-phase reaction journal January 2020
High-Electrical-Conductivity Multilayer Graphene Formed by Layer Exchange with Controlled Thickness and Interlayer journal March 2019
A light emitter based on practicable and mass-producible polycrystalline graphene patterned directly on silicon substrates from a solid-state carbon source journal January 2019