Large and flat graphene flakes produced by epoxy bonding and reverse exfoliation of highly oriented pyrolytic...

We present a fabrication method producing large and flat graphene flakes that have a few layers down to a single layer based on substrate bonding of a thick sample of highly oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG), followed by its controlled exfoliation down to the few to single graphene atomic layers. As the graphite underlayer is intimately bonded to the substrate during the exfoliation process, the obtained graphene flakes are remarkably large and flat and present very few folds and pleats. The high occurrence of single-layered graphene sheets being tens of microns wide in lateral dimensions is assessed by complementary probes including spatially resolved micro-Raman spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy and electrostatic force microscopy. This versatile method opens the way for deposition of graphene on any substrates, including flexible ones.