Graphene, especially the graphene single crystal is a star material for the future photonics and electronics due to their unique properties, such as giant intrinsic charge carrier mobility, record thermal conductivity, super stiffness and excellent light transmission. However, whether graphene can live up to the expectation depends on the reliable high-quality synthesis with high efficiency. The fabrication methodology of graphene has been prospering in the past years.
Recently, one research group from Wuhan University, China explored the exciting rapid growth of large graphene single crystal on liquid Cu with the rate up to 79 μm s-1 in Science China Materials (DOI: 10.1007/s40843-019-9406-7) based on the liquid metal chemical vapor deposition strategy.
Prof. Lei Fu stated: "the natural property of liquid metal qualifies it to be an ideal platform for the low-density nucleation and the fast growth of graphene. Liquid metal catalyst possesses quasi-atomically smooth surface with high diffusion rate, which can avoid the defects and grain boundaries that are inevitable on solid metal. The rich free electrons in liquid Cu accelerate the nucleation of graphene, realizing the nucleation of graphene single crystal within seconds. And in the meantime, the isotropic smooth surface greatly suppresses the nucleation density. Moreover, the fast mass transfer of carbon atoms due to the excellent fluidity of liquid Cu promotes the fast growth."
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