Metal-catalyzed etching of graphene governed by metal-carbon interactions: a comparison of Fe and Cu

Published

January 5, 2015

Author(s)

Guangjun Cheng, Irene Calizo, Angela R. Hight Walker

Abstract

We present a comparative investigation on the etching of graphene catalyzed by Fe and Cu and demonstrate that the strikingly different etching behaviors between Fe and Cu are governed by their distinct interactions with carbon. Due to the strong Fe-C interactions, graphene is severely damaged through not only catalytic carbon hydrogenation but also carbon dissolution into Fe alone. In contrast, due to the weak Cu-C interactions and non-wetting behavior of Cu on graphene, Cu particles etch channels in graphene through carbon hydrogenation and the width of the channel width is much narrower than the diameter of catalytic particle. This work provides unprecedented insights into the metal-catalyzed carbon hydrogenation.

Citation

Carbon

Volume

81

Pub Type

Journals

Download Paper

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.carbon.2014.10.005

Keywords

Graphene, iron, copper, metal-carbon interactions, carbon hydrogenation, dewetting, thin films

Citation

Cheng, G. , Calizo, I. and Hight, A. (2015), Metal-catalyzed etching of graphene governed by metal-carbon interactions: a comparison of Fe and Cu, Carbon, [online], https://doi.org/10.1016/j.carbon.2014.10.005 (Accessed October 10, 2025)