van der Waals epitaxial growth of graphene on c-plane (0001) sapphire by CVD without a metal catalyst is presented. The effects of CH(4) partial pressure, growth temperature, and H(2)/CH(4) ratio were investigated and growth conditions optimized. The formation of monolayer graphene was shown by Raman spectroscopy, optical transmission, grazing incidence X-ray diffraction (GIXRD), and low voltage transmission electron microscopy (LVTEM). Electrical analysis revealed that a room temperature Hall mobility above 2000 cm(2)/V·s was achieved, and the mobility and carrier type were correlated to growth conditions. Both GIXRD and LVTEM studies confirm a dominant crystal orientation (principally graphene [10-10] || sapphire [11-20]) for about 80-90% of the material concomitant with epitaxial growth. The initial phase of the nucleation and the lateral growth from the nucleation seeds were observed using atomic force microscopy. The initial nuclei density was ~24 μm(-2), and a lateral growth rate of ~82 nm/min was determined. Density functional theory calculations reveal that the binding between graphene and sapphire is dominated by weak dispersion interactions and indicate that the epitaxial relation as observed by GIXRD is due to preferential binding of small molecules on sapphire during early stages of graphene formation.

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Two-dimensional (2D) materials have been a great interest as high-performance transparent and flexible electronics due to their high crystallinity in atomic thickness and their potential for variety applications in electronics and optoelectronics. The present study explored the wafer scale production of MoS 2 nanosheets with layer thickness modulation from single to multi-layer by using two-step method of metal deposition and CVD process. The formation of high-quality and layer thickness-modulated MoS 2 film was confirmed by Raman spectroscopy, AFM, HRTEM, and photoluminescence analysis. The layer thickness was identified by employing a simple method of optical contrast value. The image contrast in green (G) channel shows the best fit as contrast increases with layer thickness, which can be utilized in identifying the layer thickness of MoS 2. The presence of critical thickness of Mo for complete sulphurization, which is due to the diffusion limit of MoS 2 transformation, changes the linearity of structural, electrical, and optical properties of MoS 2. High optical transparency of >90%, electrical mobility of $12.24 cm 2 V À1 s À1 , and I on/off of $10 6 characterized within the critical thickness make the MoS 2 film suitable for transparent and flexible electronics as compared to conventional amorphous silicon (a-Si) or organic films. The layer thickness modulated large scale MoS 2 growth method in conjunction with the layer thickness identification by the nondestructive optical contrast will definitely trigger development of scalable 2D MoS 2 films for transparent and flexible electronics.

Epitaxial, graphitic carbon thin films were directly grown on C-face/ (0001) SiC and (0001) sapphire by chemical vapor deposition (CVD), using propane as a carbon source and without any catalytic metal on the substrate surface. Raman spectroscopy shows the signature of multilayer graphene/graphite growth on both the SiC and sapphire. Raman 2D-peaks have Lorentzian lineshapes with FWHM of ~60 cm -1 and the ratio of the D-peak to G-peak intensity (I D /I G ) linearly decreases (down to 0.06) as growth temperature is increased. The epitaxial relationship between film and substrates were determined by x-ray diffraction. On both substrates, graphitic layers are oriented parallel to the substrate, but exhibit significant rotational disorder about the surface normal, and predominantly rhombohedral stacking. Film thicknesses were determined to be a function of growth time, growth temperature, and propane flow rate.

Aluminium and ferric salts are widely used as coagulants in water and wastewater treatment. They are effective in removing a broad range of impurities from water, including colloidal particles and dissolved organic substances. Their mode of action is broadly understood in terms of essentially two mechanisms: charge neutralization of negatively charged colloids by cationic hydrolysis products and incorporation of impurities in an amorphous precipitate of metal hydroxide. The relative importance of these two mechanisms depends on many factors, especially pH and coagulant dosage.Alternative coagulants based on prehydrolyzed forms of aluminium or iron can be more effective than the traditional materials in many cases, but their mode of action is not completely understood, especially with regard to the role of charge neutralization and hydroxide precipitation.Basic principles of colloid stability and metal ion hydrolysis are briefly reviewed, and the action of hydrolyzing metal coagulants is then discussed, with some examples from recent experimental studies. Although it is possible to interpret results reasonably well in terms of established ideas, there are still some uncertainties that need to be resolved