No abstract

Strongly coupled bilayer graphene (i.e., AB stacked) grows particularly well on commercial "90-10" Cu-Ni alloy foil. However, the mechanism of growth of bilayer graphene on Cu-Ni alloy foils had not been discovered. Carbon isotope labeling (sequential dosing of (12)CH(4) and (13)CH(4)) and Raman spectroscopic mapping were used to study the growth process. It was learned that the mechanism of graphene growth on Cu-Ni alloy is by precipitation at the surface from carbon dissolved in the bulk of the alloy foil that diffuses to the surface. The growth parameters were varied to investigate their effect on graphene coverage and isotopic composition. It was found that higher temperature, longer exposure time, higher rate of bulk diffusion for (12)C vs(13)C, and slower cooling rate all produced higher graphene coverage on this type of Cu-Ni alloy foil. The isotopic composition of the graphene layer(s) could also be modified by adjusting the cooling rate. In addition, large-area, AB-stacked bilayer graphene transferrable onto Si/SiO(2) substrates was controllably synthesized.

No abstract

Monolayer graphene was deposited on a Si wafer substrate decorated with SiO(2) nanoparticles (NPs) and then exposed to aryl radicals that were generated in situ from their diazonium precursors. Using micro-Raman mapping, the aryl radicals were found to selectively react with the regions of graphene that covered the NPs. The enhanced chemical reactivity was attributed to the increased strain energy induced by the local mechanical deformation of the graphene.