Effects of copper, nickel, and its alloy as catalysts for graphene growth via chemical vapor deposition method: a review

Abstract

Enormous characteristics exhibited by two-dimensional carbon-based nanomaterial, graphene attract current researchers in integrating this advanced material into the development of next-generation electronic, optoelectronic, photonic, and photovoltaic devices. The ultimate aim was to synthesis a single layer of graphene with large-size domain with less defect formation. The solid state of the graphene promises ultra-high performance in the devices due to ultra-high electron mobility. Within a decade, previous researchers have narrowed down their studies by applying different types of metal species as catalyst substrate in chemical vapor deposition method. The crucial part was to determine the characteristics of carbon precipitation and diffusion onto the metal surfaces. Each metal-based catalyst and its alloy revealed different behavior according to its carbon solubility and intrinsic properties. Until now, copper, nickel, and its alloy combination provide tremendous finding in the synthetization of graphene. Currently, researchers are still exploring the ideal parameters related to feeding gases, growth temperatures, and working pressures which are essential to each catalyst metals characteristic such as copper, nickel, and its alloy.