Carbide-Forming Groups IVB-VIB Metals: A New Territory
in the Periodic Table for CVD Growth of Graphene
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Abstract
Early
transition metals, especially groups IVB-VIB metals, can
form stable carbides, which are known to exhibit excellent “noble-metal-like”
catalytic activities. We demonstrate herein the applications of groups
IVB-VIB metals in graphene growth using atmospheric pressure chemical
vapor deposition technique. Similar to the extensively studied Cu,
Ni, and noble metals, these transition-metal foils facilitate the
catalytic growth of single- to few-layer graphene. The most attractive
advantage over the existing catalysts is their perfect control of
layer thickness and uniformity with highly flexible experimental conditions
by in situ converting the dissolved carbons into stable carbides to
fully suppress the upward segregation/precipitation effect. The growth
performance of graphene on these transition metals can be well explained
by the periodic physicochemical properties of elements. Our work has
disclosed a new territory of catalysts in the periodic table for graphene
growth and is expected to trigger more interest in graphene research