An international team of scientists has developed a new way to produce single-layer graphene from a simple precursor: ethene -- also known as ethylene -- the smallest alkene molecule, which contains just two atoms of carbon.
By heating the ethene in stages to a temperature of slightly more than 700 degrees Celsius -- hotter than had been attempted before -- the researchers produced pure layers of graphene on a rhodium catalyst substrate. The stepwise heating and higher temperature overcame challenges seen in earlier efforts to produce graphene directly from hydrocarbon precursors.
Because of its lower cost and simplicity, the technique could open new potential applications for graphene, which has attractive physical and electronic properties. The work also provides a novel mechanism for the self-evolution of carbon cluster precursors whose diffusional coalescence results in the formation of the graphene layers.
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