Carbon nanotube-incorporated double-walled phase-change microcapsules with excellent thermal and mechanical properties were realized via a facile layer-by-layer self-assembly technique.
Efficient and affordable synthesis of graphene at low temperatures remains a significant challenge that potentially limits the use of this material in real-life applications. We describe here a simple, efficient, highly controllable technique to synthesize graphene by sputtering carbon from a solid source with the assistance of inductively coupled plasma (ICP), followed by controllable low-temperature annealing at about 550 o C. Raman scattering and X-ray diffraction characterizations have revealed the formation of a few layer graphene of high quality, confirmed by a low (∼ 0.48) I D /I G ratio. Raman analysis of samples formed at various annealing temperatures has revealed an upper limit for annealing temperature of 585 o C, beyond which the formed graphene reversibly dissolves in the metal. The ICP-assisted process was innovatively employed to improve the quality of thus-fabricated graphene at low temperatures. The mechanism of graphene formation was attributed to the metal induced graphitization in combination with the carbon precipitation onto the catalyst surface.
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