Cracking of Polycrystalline Graphene on Copper under Tension.

Roll-to-roll manufacturing of graphene is attractive because of its compatibility with flexible substrates and its promise of high-speed production. Several prototype roll-to-roll systems have been demonstrated, which produce large-scale graphene on polymer films for transparent conducting film applications.1-4 In spite of such progress, the quality of graphene may be influenced by the tensile forces that are applied during roll-to-roll transfer.

Effects of thermally-induced changes of Cu grains on domain structure and electrical performance of CVD-grown graphene.

During the chemical vapor deposition (CVD) growth of graphene on Cu foils, evaporation of Cu and changes in the dimensions of Cu grains in directions both parallel and perpendicular to the foils are induced by thermal effects. Such changes in the Cu foil could subsequently change the shape and distribution of individual graphene domains grown on the foil surface, and thus influence the domain structure and electrical properties of the resulting graphene films. Here, a slower cooling rate is used after the CVD process, and the graphene films are found to have an improved electrical performance, which is considered to be associated with the Cu surface evaporation and grain structure changes in the Cu substrate.

Thermal Oxidation of WSe2 Nanosheets Adhered on SiO2/Si Substrates.

Because of the drastically different intralayer versus interlayer bonding strengths, the mechanical, thermal, and electrical properties of two-dimensional (2D) materials are highly anisotropic between the in-plane and out-of-plane directions. The structural anisotropy may also play a role in chemical reactions, such as oxidation, reduction, and etching. Here, the composition, structure, and electrical properties of mechanically exfoliated WSe2 nanosheets on SiO2/Si substrates were studied as a function of the extent of thermal oxidation.

Optical, electrical, and electromechanical properties of hybrid graphene/carbon nanotube films.

By combining a graphene layer and aligned multiwalled carbon nanotube (MWNT) sheets in two different configurations, i) graphene on the top of MWNTs and ii) MWNTs on the top of the graphene, it is demonstrated that optical, electrical, and electromechanical properties of the resulting hybrid films depend on configurations.

Crystal structure evolution of individual graphene islands during CVD growth on copper foil.

Single-crystal percentage of graphene islands on Cu foil is associated with island sizes and shapes. In polycrystalline islands, certain grain boundary types are favored. There is no obvious relation between the number of lobes and grain orientations.