Comparing Graphene Growth on Cu(111) versus Oxidized Cu(111)

We compare the growth of graphene on a high purity oxide-free Cu(111) single crystal with the growth on a Cu(111) single crystal after the creation of a thin oxide layer. We also performed density functional theory (DFT) calculations to get insight into the reaction processes and help explaining the catalytic activity of copper oxide.Our results demonstrate the feasibility of growing high-quality monolayer graphene by a one-step growth process on a preoxidized Cu(111) surface. In contrast to graphene on Cu(111), where a weak interaction and doping are found, graphene grown on the oxidized Cu surface is effectively decoupled from its substrate and thereby its intrinsic properties are preserved.

Our experiments show that high-quality freestanding graphene can be grown directly on an oxidized copper surface. The possibility of graphene growth on a high k-dielectric copper oxide surface, while preserving a freestanding-like graphene band structure, has great implications for the development of graphene-based electronics.

Comparing Graphene Growth on Cu(111) versus Oxidized Cu(111), by S. Gottardi et al, Nano Lett. 2015, 15, 917.