HIGHLIGHTS • Nitrogen was successfully incorporated in graphene nanowalls (CNWs) using cold gaseous plasma post-treatment and influence of nitrogen concentration and configuration in CNWs on electrical conductivity was demonstrated. • The mechanism of nitrogen incorporation was systematically studied using different characterisation techniques to make a bridge between established DFT theories.
Carbon, one of the most abundant materials, is very attractive for many applications because it exists in a variety of forms based on dimensions, such as zero-dimensional (0D), one-dimensional (1D), two-dimensional (2D), and-three dimensional (3D). Carbon nanowall (CNW) is a vertically-oriented 2D form of a graphene-like structure with open boundaries, sharp edges, nonstacking morphology, large interlayer spacing, and a huge surface area. Plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) is widely used for the large-scale synthesis and functionalization of carbon nanowalls (CNWs) with different types of plasma activation. Plasma-enhanced techniques open up possibilities to improve the structure and morphology of CNWs by controlling the plasma discharge parameters. Plasma-assisted surface treatment on CNWs improves their stability against structural degradation and surface chemistry with enhanced electrical and chemical properties. These advantages broaden the applications of CNWs in electrochemical energy storage devices, catalysis, and electronic devices and sensing devices to extremely thin black body coatings. However, the controlled growth of CNWs for specific applications remains a challenge. In these aspects, this review discusses the growth of CNWs using different plasma activation, the influence of various plasma-discharge parameters, and plasma-assisted surface treatment techniques for tailoring the properties of CNWs. The challenges and possibilities of CNW-related research are also discussed.
The need for 2D vertical graphene nanosheets (VGNs) is driven by its great potential in diverse energy, electronics, and sensor applications, wherein many cases a low-temperature synthesis is preferred due to requirements of the manufacturing process. Unfortunately, most of today's known methods, including plasma, require either relatively high temperatures or high plasma powers. Herein, we report on a controllable synthesis of VGNs at a pushed down lowtemperature boundary for synthesis, the low temperatures (450 o C) and low plasma powers (30 W) using capacitively coupled plasma (CCP) driven by radio-frequency power at 13.56 MHz. The strategies implemented also include unrevealing the role of Nickel (Ni) catalyst thin film on the substrates (Si/Al). It was found that the Ni catalyst on Si/Al initiates the nucleation/growth of VGNs at 450 °C in comparison to the substrates without Ni catalyst.With increasing temperature, the graphene nanosheets become bigger in size, well-structured and well separated. The role of Ni catalysts is hence to boost the growth rate, density, and quality of the growing VGNs. Furthermore, this CCP method can be used to synthesize VGNs at the lowest temperatures possible so far on a variety of substrates and provide new opportunities in the practical application of VGNs.
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