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Two-dimensional (2D) materials have attracted great attention in recent years because of their unique dimensionality and related properties. Chemical vapor deposition (CVD), a crucial technique for thin-film epitaxial growth, has become the most promising method of synthesizing 2D materials. Different from traditional thin-film growth, where strong chemical bonds are involved in both thin films and substrates, the interaction in 2D materials and substrates involves the van der Waals force and is highly anisotropic, and therefore, traditional thin-film growth theories cannot be applied to 2D material CVD synthesis. During the last 15 years, extensive theoretical studies were devoted to the CVD synthesis of 2D materials. This Perspective attempts to present a theoretical framework for 2D material CVD synthesis as well as the challenges and opportunities in exploring CVD mechanisms. We hope that this Perspective can provide an in-depth understanding of 2D material CVD synthesis and can further stimulate 2D material synthesis.

Atomically thin solid-state channels enabling selective molecular transport could potentially be used in a variety of separation and energy conversion applications. The density of channels, their height, distance and edge structure are the key factors that dramatically impact the selective transport performance. However, such channels with small constrictions and atomic precision have been limited to proof-of-concept demonstrations based on microscale two-dimensional (2D) crystal stripes. Here, we report the engineering of highly ordered, scalable monolayer graphene crystallite arrays by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method with a modified anisotropic etching approach. The size, shape, distance and edge structure of the graphene crystallite arrays in a large area could be delicately controlled through tailoring the synthetic parameters. This array structure can act as pillars to prop up a smooth single-crystal graphene film, and the fabricated integrated angstrom-size (3.4 A) channels allow water transport but exclude hydrated ions, demonstrating potential in selective ionic sieving and nanofiltration practice.

Synthesis of large-scale single-crystalline graphene monolayers without multilayers involves the fabrication of proper single-crystalline substrates and the ubiquitous formation of multilayered graphene islands during chemical vapor deposition. Here, a method of cyclic electrochemical polishing combined with thermal annealing, which allows the conversion of commercial polycrystalline Cu foils to single-crystal Cu(111) with an almost 100% yield, is presented. A global “bottom-up-etching” method that is capable of fabricating large-area pure single-crystalline graphene monolayers without multilayers through selectively etching bottom multilayered graphene underneath large area as-grown graphene monolayer on Cu(111) surface is demonstrated. Terahertz time-domain spectroscopy (THz-TDS) measurement of the pure monolayer graphene film shows a high average sheet conductivity of 2.8 mS and mean carrier mobility of 6903 cm2 V−1 s−1 over a large area. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations show that the selective etching is induced by the much easier diffusion of hydrogen atoms than hydrocarbon radicals across the edges of the top graphene layer, and the simulated selective etching processes based on phase field modeling are well consistent with experimental observations. This work provides new ways toward the production of single-crystal Cu(111) and the synthesis of pure monolayer graphene with high electronic quality.

In 2004, graphene was successfully prepared by micromechanical exfoliation of graphite, which attracts wide attention in the scientific research community. After that, related research of two-dimensional (2D) materials has received continuous exploration. In particular, academia and industry have paid tremendous attention and high expectations on graphene, owing to its remarkable and tunable physical, electrical, optical, magnetic properties and its potential applications in various fields. These practical applications include high performance electronics and optoelectronics, such as field effect transistors, transparent and flexible electrodes, spintronic devices, solar cells and so on. However, as is well-known, the practical commercial applications are based on mature and repeatable preparation of materials. Great achievements have been made in developing synthesis techniques, including micromechanical exfoliation, epitaxial growth, chemical vapor deposition (CVD), chemical exfoliation, arc discharge, segregation growth and bottom-up synthesis and so on. Among these methods, CVD method is regarded as the most versatile platform to obtain high quality, large area, and controllable number of layers with good repeatability and low cost for real commercial applications. Up to now, the past decade has witnessed significant developments in the field of CVD graphene synthesis. Herein, we present the development of this field by firstly introducing the origin of graphene and the background of CVD method. Then, the main achievements in the development of graphene since 2008 are presented from the point of view of controllable preparation. The CVD synthesis of graphene is focused mainly on four aspects: the selection and modification of catalytic substrates, the manipulation of reaction conditions, bandgap engineering and clean transfer. The selection of catalytic substrate plays a critical role in the controllable preparation of graphene by CVD method. The representative catalytic mechanisms of different substrates for growing graphene are introduced, followed by various modifications of catalytic metal substrates. Besides, surface morphology and microstructure of substrates have a great impact on the quality and uniformity of as-grown graphene. Thus, due to the disadvantages of non-uniform surface energy, defects, wrinkles and impurities on the surface of solid metal, the introduction of liquid copper catalytic system helps to better control the nucleation uniformity and optimize the graphene growth. Moreover, the preparation of large-area monocrystalline metal foils for obtaining large-scale single-crystal graphene was also reviewed. In order to avoid the disadvantages such as the damage, wrinkle and polymer pollution of graphene associated with transfer process occurred in the cases of using metal substrates to grow graphene, direct synthesis of graphene on dielectric substrates is presented with focuses on two basic controls of nucleation density and growth rate. A series of techniques such as reaction medium regulation, substrate surface modification, and plasma-assisted growth, the introduction of gaseous metals and direct preparation of graphene on liquid glass are introduced. The development of graphene vertical and planar heterostructures with hexagonal boron nitride is also presented. Moreover, the disadvantage of graphene limits its application in logic circuits due to its zero bandgap without an acceptable on/off ratio, and three main ways to open graphene bandgap are discussed including doping, the preparation of a large area of AB stacking bilayer graphene and engineering graphene nanoribbons. After that, a brief introduction of transfer method used in graphene post-processing is given. Finally, we summarize the problems existing in the field, and the future opportunities and challenges are discussed.

In this article, we present detailed investigation of the high-performance long-period fiber gratings (LPFGs) based surrounding refractive index (SRI) sensors. A comprehensive design approach is proposed to optimize the sensitivity in a specific SRI range by combining adequately both dispersion turning point (DTP) and mode transition (MT) effects. The SRI sensitivity enhancement induced by the DTP and the MT is discussed respectively. The relative importance of the mechanisms in different SRI range is revealed. The mode transitions of the HE1,18 and HE1,20 are investigated in a single LPFG, where two high sensitivity ranges are obtained. The atomic layer deposition (ALD) technology is used to deposit the titanium dioxide (TiO2) nano-film on the LPFG surface. The SRI sensitivities of 1 × 104 nm /RIU in the SRI range 1.336–1.3397 and 4.2 × 104 nm/RIU in the range 1.4526–1.4561 are achieved, respectively. The experimental results are well consistent with the theoretical analysis.

The chemical vapour deposition (CVD) method has offered a new possibility of preparing metal–organic frameworks (MOFs). However, the reported MOF-CVD method is limited to the use of gaseous organic precursors, preventing the extension of the CVD method to a broad range of potential organic linkers. This study, for the first time, reports a dual-temperature zone CVD-assisted approach for the in situ growth of conductive Cu3(HHTP)2 (HHTP = 2,3,6,7,10,11-hexahydroxytriphenylene) nanowire arrays (NWAs) on the interface between a solid Cu foil and a solid organic precursor, overcoming the difficulties of high sublimation temperatures of organic ligands and low decomposition temperatures of conductive MOFs. In the process, oxygenated water (O-H2O) is the key to obtain crystalline Cu3(HHTP)2 NWAs, and the growth is described by a base-growth mode. A symmetrical supercapacitor based on Cu3(HHTP)2 NWAs on the Cu foil shows a high specific surface area normalized capacitance of 41.1 μF cm−2 for 0.5 A g−1, which is 2–5 times higher than those of most carbon materials. This study demonstrates the extension of the synthesis method from the previous liquid or gas based reaction to a solid–solid reaction, and this extension is expected to be very useful for the production of a broad range of conductive MOFs and their direct supercapacitor application.

ConspectusSince the rise of two-dimensional (2D) materials, synthetic methods including mechanical exfoliation, solution synthesis, and chemical vapor deposition (CVD) have been developed. Mechanical exfoliation prepares randomly shaped materials with small size. Solution synthesis introduces impurities that degrade the performances. CVD is the most successful one for low-cost scalable preparation. However, when it comes to practical applications, disadvantages such as high operating temperature (∼1000 °C), probable usage of metal catalysts, contamination, defects, and interstices introduced by postgrowth transfer are not negligible. These are the reasons why plasma-enhanced CVD (PECVD), a method that enables catalyst-free in situ preparation at low temperature, is imperatively desirable.In this Account, we summarize our recent progress on controllable preparation of 2D materials by PECVD and their applications. We found that there was a competition between etching and nucleation and deposition in PECVD, making it highly controllable to obtain desired materials. Under different equilibrium states of the competition, various 2D materials with diverse morphologies and properties were prepared including pristine or nitrogen-doped graphene crystals, graphene quantum dots, graphene nanowalls, hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN), B-C-N ternary materials (BCxN), etc. We also used mild plasma to modify or treat 2D materials (e.g., WSe2) for desired properties.PECVD has advantages such as low temperature, transfer-free process, and industrial compatibility, which enable facile, scalable, and low-cost preparation of 2D materials with clean surfaces and interfaces directly on noncatalytic substrates. These merits significantly benefit the as-prepared materials in the applications. Field-effect transistors with high motilities were directly fabricated on graphene and nitrogen-doped graphene. By use of h-BN as the dielectric interfacial layer, both mobilities and saturated power densities of the devices were improved owing to the clean, closely contacted interface and enhanced interfacial thermal dissipation. High-quality materials and interfaces also enabled promising applications of these materials in photodetectors, pressure sensors, biochemical sensors, electronic skins, Raman enhancement, etc. To demonstrate the commercial applications, several prototypical devices were studied such as distributed pressure sensor arrays, touching module on a robot hand for braille recognition, and smart gloves for recording sign language. Finally, we discuss opportunities and challenges of PECVD as a comprehensive preparation methodology of 2D materials for future applications beyond traditional CVD.

Hexagonal boron nitride, a two dimensional wide bandgap insulator material which has a similar structure with graphene, has many excellent physical properties. For instance, hexagonal boron nitride has super mechanical properties, chemical and thermal stabilities, resulting in its wide potential applications in the areas of non-linear optics, ultraviolet laser and protection layers. In addition, due to its atomically smooth surface that is free of trapped charge and dangling bonds, hexagonal boron nitride is a super dielectric material for graphene electrical devices. Moreover, hexagonal boron nitride can be fabricated into planar or vertical hetero-structures with other two dimensional materials, which show unique properties and potential applications in novel electronic devices. How to synthesize large scale and high quality hexagonal boron nitride is currently key scientific issue. Up to now, many strategies, including mechanical exfoliation, deposition by ion beam sputtering, co-segregation, chemical vapor deposition and so on, have been developed for growing this material. Among these methods, chemical vapor deposition provides a versatile platform for modulating the growth and etching process of this material and producing a large scale material with high quality. This review summarizes a series of work regarding the synthesis of hexagonal boron nitride by chemical vapor deposition method, in which most recent work is also presented, and discusses the choices of reaction precursors and substrates in details. The use of solid borane ammonia complex leads to better controls over the properties of hexagonal boron nitride such as layer numbers and uniformity compared with the use of mixed B and N compounds as precursors. On the other hand, the types, surface structures and properties of the supporting substrates are critical for the growth of hexagonal boron nitride. For example, Cu substrate has advantages for growing single layered hexagonal boron nitride crystal or film, while the use of Ni or Fe substrates usually leads to multi-layered materials that are applicable to different applications. This difference largely results from two different growth mechanisms in two typical systems, i.e., surface diffusion and co-segregation mechanism. Moreover, owing to the nature of complex systems of chemical vapor deposition, kinetic controls over the growth and etching of hexagonal boron nitride can result in a more precise controls over size, shape and edge structures of this material, and the related progresses are presented. Finally, the key challenge and future directions are also presented. From the basic scientific research and large-scale application points of view, there are still plenty room for further studies of controllable synthesis of hexagonal boron nitride. How to optimize the growth process, further understand the growth mechanism, and realize the large sized layer number controlled growth of single crystal hexagonal boron nitride are important issues required to be solved in future. Further explorations of a better substrate such as an alloy possibly leads to combined advantages of components in an alloy, overcoming the difficulties associated with uniform production of high quality hexagonal boron nitride crystal or film. In addition, searching better reaction precursors also deserves attention, and working on this may be rewarding.

Growth control over the size and shape of two-dimensional hexagonal boron nitride domains is vital for its applications. Here we develop a rational water-assisted chemical vapor deposition method that allows fast growth of large-sized (more than 330 μm) single crystal domains, which are 3–5 times larger than those previously grown on solid Cu or Cu–Ni alloy. Further kinetic control results in the perfect evolution of the domain shape from negatively curved triangle, triangle, positively curved triangle, regular hexagon, polygon, to circle. This work addresses the existing major problems, paving a way for the synthesis of materials with better control.

Graphene, an amazing two-dimensional material with excellent physical properties, has attracted great attention in various disciplines. Both fundamental studies and applications require graphene samples with controlled parameters including their quality, size, crystallinity, layer number and so on. While graphene can be prepared by direct exfoliation from mother materials or growth on transition metals, the uncontrolled production or the additional complex transfer process has been challenging for graphene applications. Direct preparation on a desired dielectric substrate is an important research direction that potentially addresses these problems. Many advances have been made in the past few years, and this tutorial review provides a brief summary of ways of preparing graphene on dielectric substrates. Various methods including the annealing method, direct chemical vapor deposition graphene synthesis on conventional dielectric substrates and hexagonal boron nitride layers are systematically reviewed and discussed. The main problems and further directions in this field are also presented.

The controlled growth of graphene by the chemical vapor deposition method is vital for its various applications; however, the reproducibility remains a great challenge. Here, using single-crystal graphene growth on a Cu surface as a model system, we demonstrate that a trace amount of H2O and O2 impurity gases in the reaction chamber is key for the large fluctuation of graphene growth. By precisely controlling their parts per million level concentrations, centimeter-sized single-crystal graphene is obtained in a reliable manner with a maximum growth rate up to 190 μm min-1. The roles of oxidants are elucidated as an effective modulator for both graphene nucleation density and growth rate. This control is more fundamental for reliable growth of graphene beyond previous findings and is expected to be useful for the growth of various 2D materials that are also sensitive to trace oxidant impurities.

Grain boundaries (GBs) in polycrystalline graphene scatter charge carriers, which reduces carrier mobility and limits graphene applications in high-speed electronics. Here we report the extraction of the resistivity of GBs and the effect of GBs on carrier mobility by direct four-probe measurements on millimeter-sized graphene bicrystals grown by chemical vapor deposition (CVD). To extract the GB resistivity and carrier mobility from direct four-probe intragrain and intergrain measurements, an electronically equivalent extended 2D GB region is defined based on Ohm's law. Measurements on seven representative GBs find that the maximum resistivities are in the range of several kΩ·μm to more than 100 kΩ·μm. Furthermore, the mobility in these defective regions is reduced to 0.4-5.9‰ of the mobility of single-crystal, pristine graphene. Similarly, the effect of wrinkles on carrier transport can also be derived. The present approach provides a reliable way to directly probe charge-carrier scattering at GBs and can be further applied to evaluate the GB effect of other two-dimensional polycrystalline materials, such as transition-metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs).

The full spectrum from attachment-kinetic-dominated to diffusion-controlled modes is revealed for the cases of monolayer h-BN chemical vapor deposition (CVD) growth and Ar/H-2 etching. The sets of grown and etched structures exhibit well-defined shape evolution from Euclidian to fractal geometry. The detailed abnormal processes for merging h-BN flakes into continuous structures or film are first observed and explained.

Grains and grain boundaries (GBs) in graphene are vital for the control of its properties; however, engineering or controlling them by growth remains a great challenge. Here we discover that the dynamic formation of GBs within chemical vapor deposited polygonal graphene flakes is described by a geometric rule. A GB is formed to be symmetrically tilted and a continuous straight line, and the key parameters including end point, direction of GB line, and misorientation angles between adjacent graphene grains can be determined solely by the geometries of the polygonal graphene flakes. We also show the growth control over the length of straight graphene GB lines and demonstrate the capability of parallel fabrication of field-effect transistor devices across predicted GBs in a straightforward manner. This work constitutes a significant step forward in engineering grains and GBs in graphene.

A layered material grown between a substrate and the upper layer involves complex interactions and a confined reaction space, representing an unusual growth mode. Here, we show multi-layer graphene domains grown on liquid or solid Cu by the chemical vapor deposition method via this 'double-substrate' mode. We demonstrate the interlayer-induced coupling effect on the twist angle in bi- and multi-layer graphene. We discover dramatic growth disunity for different graphene layers, which is explained by the ideas of a chemical 'gate' and a material transport process within a confined space. These key results lead to a consistent framework for understanding the dynamic evolution of multi-layered graphene flakes and tailoring the layer-to-layer growth for practical applications.

Hierarchical graphene architectures (HGAs) that grow by stacking of layers are produced on a liquid copper surface using chemical vapor deposition. The stacking mode--for example hexagonal-hexagonal-hexagonal or hexagonal-snowflake-dendritic--can be simply controlled. Measurements of the electrical properties of HGAs indicate that hierarchical stacking of graphene may be a simple and effective way of tailoring their properties without degrading them.

Viable and general techniques that allow effective size control of triangular-shaped, single-crystal, monolayer h-BN domains grown by the CVD method, direct optical visualization of h-BN domains, and the cleaning of the h-BN surface to achieve reliable graphene device quality are reported for the first time. This study points to a critical role of the interfacial properties between the graphene and the monolayer h-BN in determining reliable, enhanced graphene-device performance.

The precisely controllable growth of self-aligned single-crystal graphene grains on liquid Cu surface by ambient pressure chemical vapor deposition is reported. Large scale monolayer graphene arrays are modulated by varying growth conditions such as flrate of carbon source, growth temperature, and growth time. Further, bilayer graphene grains are also controllably prepared under optimized growth conditions. The self-alignment mechanism of graphene is also studied and a growth model is proposed to explain that process involving surface tension of liquid phase. In all, the growth mechanism of graphene arrays is fiprobed and the grown graphene arrays show reasonable mobility and high current density, posing great potential for graphene-based electronics.

Graphene, an amazing two-dimensional material with excellent physical properties, has attracted great attention in various disciplines. Both fundamental studies and applications require graphene samples with controlled parameters including their quality, size, crystallinity, layer number and so on. While graphene can be prepared by direct exfoliation from mother materials or growth on transition metals, the uncontrolled production or the additional complex transfer process has been challenging for graphene applications. Direct preparation on a desired dielectric substrate is an important research direction that potentially addresses these problems. Many advances have been made in the past few years, and this tutorial review provides a brief summary of ways of preparing graphene on dielectric substrates. Various methods including the annealing method, direct chemical vapor deposition graphene synthesis on conventional dielectric substrates and hexagonal boron nitride layers are systematically reviewed and discussed. The main problems and further directions in this field are also presented.

Because of its atomic thickness, excellent properties, and widespread applications, graphene is regarded as one of the most promising candidate materials for nanoelectronics. The wider use of graphene will require processes that produce this material in a controllable manner. In this Account, we focus on our recent studies of the controllable chemical vapor deposition (CVD) growth of graphene, especially few-layer graphene (FLG), and the applications of this material in electronic devices. CVD provides various means of control over the morphologies of the produced graph ene. We studied several variables that can affect the CVD growth of graphene, including the catalyst, gas flow rate, growth time, and growth temperature and successfully achieved the controlled growth of hexagonal graphene crystals. Moreover, we developed several modified CVD methods for the controlled growth of FLGs. Patterned CVD produced FLGs with desired shapes in required areas. By introducing dopant precursor in the CVD process, we produced substitutionally doped FLGs, avoiding the typically complicated post-treatment processes for graphene doping. We developed a template CVD method to produce FLG ribbons with controllable morphologies on a large scale. An oxidation-activated surface facilitated the CVD growth of polycrystalline graphene without the use of a metal catalyst or a complicated postgrowth transfer process. In devices, CVD offers a controllable means to modulate the electronic properties of the graphene samples and to improve device performance. Using CVD-grown hexagonal graphene crystals as the channel materials in field-effect transistors (FETs), we improved carrier mobility. Substitutional doping of graphene in CVD opened a band gap for efficient FET operation and modulated the Fermi energy level for n-type or p-type features. The similarity between the chemical structure of graphene and organic semiconductors suggests potential applications of graphene in organic devices. We used patterned CVD FLGs as the bottom electrodes in pentacene FETs. The strong π-π interactions between graphene and pentacene produced an excellent interface with low contact resistance and a reduced injection barrier, which dramatically enhances the device performance. We also fabricated reversible nanoelectromechanical (NEM) switches and a logic gate using the FLG ribbons produced using our template CVD method. In summary, CVD provides a controllable means to produce graphene samples with both large area and high quality. We developed several modified CVD methods to produce FLG samples with controlled shape, location, edge, layer, dopant, and growth substrate. As a result, we can modulate the properties of FLGs, which provides materials that could be used in FETs, OFETs, and NEM devices. Despite remarkable advances in this field, further exploration is required to produce consistent, homogeneous graphene samples with single layer, single crystal, and large area for graphene-based electronics.

Vertical heterojunctions of two two-dimensional (2D) transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) have attracted considerable attention recently. A variety of heterojunctions can be constructed by stacking different TMDs to form fundamental building blocks in different optoelectronic devices such as photodetectors, solar cells, and light-emitting diodes. However, these applications are significantly hampered by the challenges of large-scale production of van der Waals stacks of atomically thin materials. Here, we demonstrate scalable production of periodic patterns of few-layer WS2, MoS2, and their vertical heterojunction arrays by a thermal reduction sulfurization process. In this method, a two-step chemical vapor deposition approach was developed to effectively prevent the phase mixing of TMDs in an unpredicted manner, thus affording a well-defined interface between WS2 and MoS2 in the vertical dimension. As a result, large-scale, periodic arrays of few-layer WS2, MoS2, and their vertical heterojunctions can be produced with desired size and density. Photodetectors based on the as-produced MoS2/WS2 vertical heterojunction arrays were fabricated, and a high photoresponsivity of 2.3 A·W(-1) at an excitation wavelength of 450 nm was demonstrated. Flexible photodetector devices using MoS2/WS2 heterojunction arrays were also demonstrated with reasonable signal/noise ratio. The approach in this work is also applicable to other TMD materials and can open up the possibilities of producing a variety of vertical van der Waals heterojunctions in a large scale toward optoelectronic applications.

We report the metal-catalyst-free synthesis of high-quality polycrystalline graphene on dielectric substrates [silicon dioxide (SiO(2)) or quartz] using an oxygen-aided chemical vapor deposition (CVD) process. The growth was carried out using a CVD system at atmospheric pressure. After high-temperature activation of the growth substrates in air, high-quality polycrystalline graphene is subsequently grown on SiO(2) by utilizing the oxygen-based nucleation sites. The growth mechanism is analogous to that of growth for single-walled carbon nanotubes. Graphene-modified SiO(2) substrates can be directly used in transparent conducting films and field-effect devices. The carrier mobilities are about 531 cm(2) V(-1) s(-1) in air and 472 cm(2) V(-1) s(-1) in N(2), which are close to that of metal-catalyzed polycrystalline graphene. The method avoids the need for either a metal catalyst or a complicated and skilled postgrowth transfer process and is compatible with current silicon processing techniques.

We demonstrate a simple and controllable way to synthesize large-area, few-layer graphene on iron substrates by an optimized chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method using a mixture of methane and hydrogen. Based on an analysis of the Fe-C phase diagram, a suitable procedure for the successful synthesis of graphene on Fe surfaces was designed. An appropriate temperature and cooling process were found to be very important in the synthesis of highly crystalline few-layer graphene. Graphene-based field-effect transistor (FET) devices were fabricated using the resulting few-layer graphene, and showed good quality with extracted mobilities of 300–1150 cm2/(V·s). Open image in new window

Controllable and scalable production is of great importance for the application of graphene; however, to date, it is still a great challenge and a major obstacle which hampers its practical applications. Here, we develop a template chemical vapor deposition method for scalable synthesis of few-layer graphene ribbons (FLGRs) with controlled morphologies. The FLGRs have a good conductivity and are ideal for use in nanoelectromechanics (NEM). As an application, we fabricate a reversible NEM switch and a logic gate by using the FLGRs. This work realizes both controllable and scalable synthesis of graphene, provides an application of graphene in NEM switches, and would be valuable for both the scientific studies and the practical applications of graphene.

A magnetism-assisted chemical vapor deposition method was developed to synthesize branched or iron-encapsulated carbon nanotubes. In the process, the external magnetic field can promote the coalescence or division of the catalyst particles, causing the formation of branched or encapsulated nanostructures. This finding will extend the understanding of the chemical vapor deposition method in a magnetic field and promote the applications of branched or encapsulated nanostructures.

On the basis of high-density and uniform assembly of Au nanoparticles on carbon nanotube (CNT) surface and subsequently the convenient chemical vapor deposition technique, the nanowires with carbon nanotube core and uniform silica insulating shell were controllably synthesized and then efficiently integrated into top-gated FETs. The study provides a simpler, lower-cost, and more controllable methodology for the uniform coating/functionalizing of CNTs with shell layer materials such as oxide gate-dielectrics. Moreover, the as-synthesized core−shell nanowires, with inherent gate-dielectric shell layer, provide a new opportunity for efficiently and conveniently fabricating of top-gated CNTFETs and other vertical surround-gated CNTFET devices, thus making for the development of more highly integrated circuits.

By using an originally designed chemical vapor deposition chamber, high-quality single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) have been synthesized over Fe–Co/MgO catalyst by catalytic decomposition of ethanol at atmospheric pressure. The as-synthesized carbon material primarily consists of the SWNTs bundle with few defects and a certain amount of amorphous carbon. By adjusting the concentration of ethanol solution, we can control diameter distribution of the SWNTs. We suggest that both addition of water and the designed setup play important roles for the controlled growth of SWNTs. After the efficient purification combining hydrochloric acid treatment, reflux of nitric acid and air oxidation, 98% purity of the SWNTs is obtained.

ZnO nanoribbon/nanoneedle junction networks and faceted nanoneedle–microwhisker structures were grown for the first time by the evaporation of ZnS in the presence of oxygen under different reaction conditions. The nanoribbons/nanoneedles crossed each other in three specific directions to form network-like 2D junction structures and displayed a unique and perfect growth mode. For the faceted nanoneedle structure, the nanoneedle grew epitaxially on the (0002) plane of a ZnO microcrystal. These ZnO nanostructures might have potential applications in the development of nanoscale electronics and optics.

By using near-equilibrium chemical vapor deposition, it is demonstrated that high-quality single-crystal graphene can be grown on dielectric substrates. The maximum size is about 11 μm. The carrier mobility can reach about 5650 cm(2) V(-1) s(-1) , which is comparable to those of some metal-catalyzed graphene crystals, reflecting the good quality of the graphene lattice.

Large-scale, uniform, vertically standing graphene with atomically thin edges are controllably synthesized on copper foil using a microwave-plasma chemical vapor deposition system. A growth mechanism for this system is proposed. This film shows excellent field-emission properties, with low turn-on field of 1.3 V μm(-1) , low threshold field of 3.0 V μm(-1) and a large field-enhancement factor more than 10 000.

By using two-stage, metal-catalyst-free chemical vapor deposition (CVD), it is demonstrated that high-quality polycrystalline graphene films can directly grow on silicon nitride substrates. The carrier mobility can reach about 1500 cm(2) V(-1) s(-1) , which is about three times the value of those grown on SiO(2) /Si substrates, and also is better than some examples of metal-catalyzed graphene, reflecting the good quality of the graphene lattice.

The ability to dope graphene is highly important for modulating electrical properties of graphene. However, the current route for the synthesis of N-doped graphene by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method mainly involves high growth temperature using ammonia gas or solid reagent melamine as nitrogen sources, leading to graphene with low doping level, polycrystalline nature, high defect density and low carrier mobility. Here, we demonstrate a self-assembly approach that allows the synthesis of single-layer, single crystal and highly nitrogen-doped graphene domain arrays by self-organization of pyridine molecules on Cu surface at temperature as low as 300 °C. These N-doped graphene domains have a dominated geometric structure of tetragonal-shape, reflecting the single crystal nature confirmed by electron-diffraction measurements. The electrical measurements of these graphene domains showed their high carrier mobility, high doping level, and reliable N-doped behavior in both air and vacuum.

To realize graphene-based electronics, various types of graphene are required; thus, modulation of its electrical properties is of great importance. Theoretic studies show that intentional doping is a promising route for this goal, and the doped graphene might promise fascinating properties and widespread applications. However, there is no experimental example and electrical testing of the substitutionally doped graphene up to date. Here, we synthesize the N-doped graphene by a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method. We find that most of them are few-layer graphene, although single-layer graphene can be occasionally detected. As doping accompanies with the recombination of carbon atoms into graphene in the CVD process, N atoms can be substitutionally doped into the graphene lattice, which is hard to realize by other synthetic methods. Electrical measurements show that the N-doped graphene exhibits an n-type behavior, indicating substitutional doping can effectively modulate the electrical properties of graphene. Our finding provides a new experimental instance of graphene and would promote the research and applications of graphene.

A cyclic ethylene linked triphenylamine dimer formed highly crystalline thin film via vapor deposition. Meanwhile, the corresponding linear molecule only resulted in amorphous films under the same condition. The performance as FET semiconductor also improved significantly when the molecular structure derived from linear to cyclic type. The cyclic molecule displayed mobilities in excess of 10-2 cm2 V-1 s-1 and high on/off ratios up to 107.

The phenomenon of ordered pattern formation is universal in nature but involves complex non-equilibrium processes that are highly important for both fundamental research and applied materials systems. Among countless pattern systems, a snowflake is possibly the most fascinating example offered by nature. Here, we report that single-layered and single-crystalline graphene flakes (GFs) with highly regular and hexagonal symmetric patterns can be grown on a liquid copper surface using a CH4 chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method. The different morphologies of these GFs can be precisely tailored by varying the composition of the inert gas/H2 carrier gas mixture used to produce the GFs, and the GF edges can be continuously tuned over the full spectrum from negative to zero to positive curvature in a controllable way. The family of GF crystal patterns is remarkably analogous to that of snowflakes, representing an ideal two-dimensional (2D) growth system. Pattern formations from compact to dendritic GFs can be explained by the continuous modulation of the competition between adatom diffusion along island edges or corners and surface diffusion processes.

Uniform single-crystal graphene domains were synthesized on copper foils by atmospheric pressure chemical vapor deposition with activated carbon dioxide (CO2). Controlled growth of graphene domains with a shape evolution from hexagonal to round has been achieved by varying the flow rate of CO2. The excess CO2 passivation induced graphene domain morphology transformation was systematically studied. Field-effect transistors were fabricated based on our CO2-derived graphene and their electrical properties were measured both in air and N2. The maximum fitted device mobilities for holes and electrons could achieve up to 3010 and 750 cm2 V−1 s−1, respectively. Our method provides a viable way for the industrial application of graphene derived from CO2 which could be converted to carbon materials.

Three-dimensional hat-shaped alignments of carbon nanotubes were prepared by pyrolysis of iron(II) phthalocyanine on aluminium-coated silica substrates at 950°C in an Ar/H 2 flow. The possible formation mechanism of the structure has also been discussed.