A Ternary Alloy Substrate to Synthesize Monolayer Graphene with Liquid Carbon Precursor

Here we demonstrate a ternary Cu₂NiZn alloy substrate for controllably synthesizing monolayer graphene using a liquid carbon precursor cyclohexane via a facile CVD route. In contrast with elemental metal or bimetal substrates, the alloy-induced synergistic effects that provide an ideal metallic platform for much easier dehydrogenation of hydrocarbon molecules, more reasonable strength of adsorption energy of carbon monomer on surface and lower formation energies of carbon chains, largely renders the success growth of monolayer graphene with higher electrical mobility and lower defects. The growth mechanism is systemically investigated by our DFT calculations. This study provides a selective route for realizing high-quality graphene monolayer via a scalable synthetic method by using economic liquid carbon supplies and multialloy metal substrates.