Process for producing two-dimensional nanomaterials

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9399581-B2
Application number	US-201314389447-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 28, 2013
Priority date	Mar 30, 2012
Publication date	Jul 26, 2016
Grant date	Jul 26, 2016

Abstract

The present invention provides a process for producing a two-dimensional nanomaterial by chemical vapor deposition (CVD), the process comprising contacting a substrate in a reaction chamber with a first flow which contains hydrogen and a second flow which contains a precursor for said material, wherein the contacting takes place under conditions such that the precursor reacts in the chamber to form said material on a surface of the substrate, wherein the ratio of the flow rate of the first flow to the flow rate of the second flow is at least 5:1. Two-dimensional nanomaterials obtainable by said process are also provided, as well as devices comprising said nanomaterials.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A process for producing a two-dimensional nanomaterial by chemical vapour deposition (CVD), the process comprising contacting a substrate in a reaction chamber with a first flow which contains hydrogen and a second flow which contains a precursor for said material, wherein the contacting takes place under conditions such that the precursor reacts in the chamber to form said material on a surface of the substrate, wherein the ratio of the flow rate of the first flow to the flow rate of the second flow is at least 10:1, wherein the two-dimensional nanomaterial is graphene and the precursor is a carbon precursor, and wherein the substrate is a copper substrate and at least a portion of said surface of the substrate has a crystallographic orientation of (101), (001) or (111).

2. A process according to claim 1 , wherein the contacting takes place under a pressure within the reaction chamber of below 1 bar.

3. A process according to claim 1 , wherein at least a portion of said surface of the substrate has a crystallographic orientation of (101).

4. A process according to claim 1 , wherein said surface of the substrate is substantially fully oriented in a single crystallographic orientation.

5. A process according to claim 1 , wherein:
(i) the flow rate of the first flow is 5 sccm or more; and/or
(ii) the flow rate of the second flow is 20 sccm or less.

6. A process according to claim 1 , wherein:
(i) the temperature within the reaction chamber is from about 800° C. to about 1050° C.; and/or
(ii) the pressure within the reaction chamber is less than 50 Torr.

7. A process according to claim 1 , wherein the substrate is pre-treated with hydrogen before contacting the substrate with the second flow.

8. A process according to claim 1 , wherein the carbon precursor is methane.

9. A process according to claim 1 , wherein:
(i) the graphene produced by the process is substantially monolayer or bilayer graphene; and/or
(ii) the geometry of one or more edges of the graphene is substantially zigzag or substantially armchair.

10. A process according to claim 1 , wherein at least one edge of the two-dimensional nanomaterial is oriented substantially parallel to a <110> direction on a crystallographic orientation on said surface of the substrate.

11. A process according to claim 1 , wherein the process further comprises forming a product comprising the two-dimensional nanomaterial.

12. A process according to claim 1 , wherein the two-dimensional nanomaterial is produced by atmospheric-pressure chemical vapour deposition or low-pressure chemical vapour deposition.

13. A process according to claim 1 , wherein the contacting takes place under a pressure within the reaction chamber of about 1 bar or less than about 1 bar.

Assignees

• Isis Innovation

Inventors

• Grobert Nicole
• Murdock Adrian Timothy
• Koós Antal Adolf

Classifications

• B82Y30/00

  Nanotechnology for materials or surface science, e.g. nanocomposites · CPC title

• C01B2204/04

  Specific amount of layers or specific thickness · CPC title

• C23C16/26

  Deposition of carbon only · CPC title

• C30B25/186 Primary

  being specially pre-treated by, e.g. chemical or physical means · CPC title

• B82Y40/00

  Manufacture or treatment of nanostructures · CPC title