Visualization of graphene grain boundaries through oxygen intercalation

Efficient control over the grain boundaries (GBs) is a vital aspect in optimizing the graphene growth conditions. A number of methods for visualization of GBs were developed for graphene grown on weakly interacting surfaces. Here, we utilize oxygen intercalation to reveal GBs and study their morphol...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inApplied surface science Vol. 565; p. 150476
Main Authors Bokai, Kirill A., Shevelev, Viktor O., Marchenko, Dmitry, Makarova, Anna A., Mikhailovskii, Vladimir Yu, Zakharov, Alexei A., Vilkov, Oleg Yu, Krivenkov, Maxim, Vyalikh, Denis V., Usachov, Dmitry Yu
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Elsevier B.V 01.11.2021
Subjects
Condensed Matter Physics
Den kondenserade materiens fysik
Fysik
Grain boundaries
Graphene
Natural Sciences
Naturvetenskap
Oxygen
Photoemission electron microscopy
Physical Sciences
Scanning electron microscopy
X-ray photoemission spectroscopy
Grain boundaries
Scanning electron microscopy
Oxygen
X-ray photoemission spectroscopy
Graphene
Photoemission electron microscopy
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Summary:Efficient control over the grain boundaries (GBs) is a vital aspect in optimizing the graphene growth conditions. A number of methods for visualization of GBs were developed for graphene grown on weakly interacting surfaces. Here, we utilize oxygen intercalation to reveal GBs and study their morphology for graphene strongly bound to the cobalt surface. We demonstrate that upon the intercalation of oxygen, GBs in polycrystalline graphene become easily detectable due to graphene cracking and selective oxidation of the substrate, thus giving a direct insight into the graphene micro- and nanostructure by means of different electron microscopy methods, including scanning electron microscopy, photoemission microscopy and low-energy electron microscopy. [Display omitted] •Grain boundaries of graphene strongly bound to the Co(0001) surface are visualized.•Patterned distribution of domains is revealed in polycrystalline graphene/Co.•Graphene coverage prevents the Co(0001) surface from oxidation at low exposures.•Lateral growth of cobalt oxide areas is observed under polycrystalline graphene.•After deintercalation of oxygen a part of graphene remains quasi-freestanding.
ISSN:0169-4332
1873-5584
DOI:10.1016/j.apsusc.2021.150476