Development of an innovative method for integrated synthesis of graphene nanoribbon

Abstract

A novel method for the integrated synthesis of suspended graphene nanoribbon (GNR) has been established with diffusion plasma CVD using Ni nanobar as a catalyst. The growth dynamics of suspended GNR is also investigated through a systematic experimental study combined with a molecular dynamics simulation and theoretical calculations for phase diagram analysis. The improvement of the thermal stability of Ni may be the key to realizing GNR nucleation, which can be achieved by supplying a higher density of carbon from plasma to liquid-phase Ni. The wettability of Ni is also found to be an important factor forming the suspended structure of GNR. By following these models, precise tuning of growth conditions is carried out, resulting in the wafer-scale synthesis of suspended GNR arrays with a very high yield (over 98%).