Growth of turbostratic stacked graphene using waste ferric chloride solution as a feedstock

Abstract

Monolayer graphene has excellent electrical properties especially a linear dispersion in the band structure at the K-point in the Brillouin zone. However, its electronic transport properties can be degraded by surface roughness and attachment of charge impurities. Although multilayer graphene can reduce the surface roughness and attachment of charge impurities, the increase in the number of graphene layers can degrade the electronic transport properties due to interlayer interactions. Turbostratic graphene can significantly reduce the effect of interlayer interaction of multilayer graphene resulting in electrical properties similar to those of monolayer graphene. In this report, we have demonstrated the growth of turbostratic stacked graphene using waste ferric chloride solution as a feedstock by vaporization and calcination at 700 °C for 6 hours under an argon atmosphere. SEM images and EDX elemental distribution maps showed graphene can be grown on iron and nickel catalysts. XRD results and Raman spectra confirmed the presence of turbostratic stacked graphene with the interlayer spacing in the range of 3.41 Å to 3.44 Å. The Raman spectra in all samples also displayed a weak intensity peak of iTALO⁻ and a well-fitted 2D band by a single Lorentzian peak indicating the presence of turbostratic stacked graphene. In addition, XPS spectra reveal the growth mechanism of the turbostratic stacked graphene. This synthesis process of turbostratic stacked graphene is not only simple, low-cost, and suitable for large-scale production but also decreases the environmental issues from releasing waste ferric chloride solution with improper disposal.