Growth of graphene films from non-gaseous carbon sources

Abstract

In various embodiments, the present disclosure provides methods of forming graphene films by: (1) depositing a non-gaseous carbon source onto a catalyst surface; (2) exposing the non-gaseous carbon source to at least one gas with a flow rate; and (3) initiating the conversion of the non-gaseous carbon source to the graphene film, where the thickness of the graphene film is controllable by the gas flow rate. Additional embodiments of the present disclosure pertain to graphene films made in accordance with the methods of the present disclosure.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A graphene film made by the process of:
 a. depositing a non-gaseous carbon source onto a catalyst surface; and   b. exposing the non-gaseous carbon source to at least one gas, wherein the at least one gas comprises a gas flow rate; and   c. initiating the conversion of the non-gaseous carbon source to the graphene film, wherein the formed graphene film comprises one or more layers of graphene, and wherein the thickness of the graphene film is controllable by adjusting the gas flow rate.   
     
     
         2 . The graphene film of  claim 1 , wherein the non-gaseous carbon source is selected from the group consisting of polymers, non-polymeric carbon sources, raw carbon sources, small molecules, organic compounds, fullerenes, fluorenes, carbon nanotubes, phenylene ethynylenes, sucrose, sugars, polysaccharides, proteins, carbohydrates and combinations thereof. 
     
     
         3 . The graphene film of  claim 1 , wherein the non-gaseous carbon source comprises a raw carbon source. 
     
     
         4 . The graphene film of  claim 3 , wherein the raw carbon source is selected from the group consisting of food sources, plants, insects, waste products, and combinations thereof. 
     
     
         5 . The graphene film of  claim 1 , wherein the catalyst surface comprises one or more atoms selected from the group consisting of Ni, Co, Fe, Pt, Au, Al, Cr, Cu, Mg, Mn, Mo, Rh, Si, Ta, Ti, W, U, V, Zr and combinations thereof. 
     
     
         6 . The graphene film of  claim 1 , wherein the non-gaseous carbon source is doped with a doping reagent before, during or after the initiating step, and wherein the doping results in the formation of a doped graphene film. 
     
     
         7 . The graphene film of  claim 6 , wherein the doping reagent is selected from the group consisting of melamines, boranes, carboranes, aminoboranes, ammonia boranes, phosphines, aluminum hydroxides, silanes, polysilanes, polysiloxanes, phosphites, phosphonates, sulfides, thiols, ammonia, pyridines, phosphazines, borazines, and combinations thereof. 
     
     
         8 . The graphene film of  claim 1 , wherein the graphene film is a monolayered graphene. 
     
     
         9 . The graphene film of  claim 1 , further comprising a step of adjusting the thickness of the graphene film by adjusting the gas flow rate. 
     
     
         10 . The graphene film of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one gas is selected from the group consisting of nitrogen, hydrogen, argon, and combinations thereof. 
     
     
         11 . The graphene film of  claim 1 , wherein the non-gaseous carbon source is deposited on a first surface of the catalyst, and wherein the graphene film forms on a second surface of the catalyst. 
     
     
         12 . The graphene film of  claim 11 , wherein the first surface and the second surface are on opposite sides of the catalyst. 
     
     
         13 . The graphene film of  claim 1 , wherein the graphene film has from about 2 layers of graphene to about 9 layers of graphene.