Substrate free synthesis of graphene nanoflakes by atmospheric pressure chemical vapour deposition using Ni powder as a catalyst

TL;DR

This paper reports a novel substrate-free method for synthesizing high-quality graphene nanoflakes using atmospheric pressure chemical vapour deposition with Ni powder as a catalyst, eliminating the need for a substrate.

Contribution

It introduces a substrate-free synthesis process for graphene nanoflakes using Ni powder and atmospheric pressure CVD, which is a new approach in the field.

Findings

GNFs are stacked with high aspect ratio

GNFs consist of crystalline graphene layers, some single crystalline

Raman spectra confirm high quality of GNFs

Abstract

Graphene nanoflakes (GNFs) were synthesized by atmospheric pressure chemical vapour deposition of propane (C3H8) employing Ni (salen) powder without the introduction of a substrate. The graphitic nature of the GNFs was examined by an X-ray diffraction method. Scanning electron microscopy results revealed that GNFs were stacked on top of one another and had a high aspect ratio. Transmission electron microscopy studies suggested that the GNFs were made up of a number of crystalline graphene layers, some of which were even single crystalline as evident from the selected area diffraction pattern. Finally, Raman spectroscopy confirmed the high quality of the GNFs.