Vertically-aligned graphene flakes on nanoporous templates: morphology, thickness, and defect level control by pre-treatment

Jinghua Fang; Igor Levchenko; Shailesh Kumar; Donghan Seo; Kostya Ken Ostrikov

doi:10.1088/1468-6996/15/5/055009

Vertically-aligned graphene flakes on nanoporous templates: morphology, thickness, and defect level control by pre-treatment

Sci Technol Adv Mater. 2014 Oct 31;15(5):055009. doi: 10.1088/1468-6996/15/5/055009. eCollection 2014 Oct.

Authors

Jinghua Fang¹, Igor Levchenko², Shailesh Kumar³, Donghan Seo², Kostya Ken Ostrikov⁴

Affiliations

¹ CSIRO Manufacturing, PO Box 218, Lindfield, NSW 2070, Australia; School of Physics, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3010, Australia.
² CSIRO Manufacturing, PO Box 218, Lindfield, NSW 2070, Australia; Plasma Nanoscience, School of Physics, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia.
³ CSIRO Manufacturing, PO Box 218, Lindfield, NSW 2070, Australia.
⁴ CSIRO Manufacturing, PO Box 218, Lindfield, NSW 2070, Australia; Plasma Nanoscience, School of Physics, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia; Institute for Future Environments and School of Chemistry, Physics, and Mechanical Engineering, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD 4000, Australia.

Abstract

Various morphologies of the vertically-aligned graphene flakes were fabricated on the nanoporous templates treated with metal ions in solutions, as well as coated with a thin gold layer and activated in the low-temperature Ar plasma. The thickness and level of structural defects in the graphene flakes could be effectively controlled by a proper selection of the pre-treatment method. We have also demonstrated that various combinations of the flake thickness and defect levels can be obtained, and the morphology and density of the graphene pattern can be effectively controlled. The result obtained could be of interest for various applications requiring fabrication of large graphene networks with controllable properties.

Keywords: graphene flakes; nanotemplates; plasma treatment.