Carbon-Oxygen Radical Assisted Growth of Defect-Free Graphene Films Using Low-Temperature Chemical Vapor Deposition

Low-temperature chemical vapor deposition growth of graphene films is a long-term pursuit in the graphene synthesis field because of the low energy consumption, short heating-cooling process and low wrinkle density of as-obtained films. However, insufficient energy supply at low temperature (below 850 °C) usually leads to the difficulty in carbon source dissociation, graphene growth, and defect healing. Herein, a Carbon-Oxygen (C─O) radical assisted strategy is proposed for low-temperature growth of defect-free, wrinkle-free, and single-crystalline graphene films by using methanol precursor. We provide a deep insight into the growth process fueled by methanol precursor, unveiling the dissociation pathway of methanol and the roles of intermediate C─O radicals in carbon attaching and assembling to graphene lattice without defect formation. This method shows promising prospects in the cost-effective production of high-quality graphene films and provides inspiration for growing other 2D materials.