All‐Dry Hydrophobic Functionalization of Paper Surfaces for Efficient Transfer of CVD Graphene

Abstract

In this study, the successful transfer of chemical vapor deposition (CVD)‐grown graphene on an ordinary printing paper surface is demonstrated. Pristine paper is not a suitable substrate for graphene transfer because of its fragile and hydrophilic nature against the chemicals used during the transfer process. Two different fluoroalkyl polymers, namely poly(hexafluorobutyl acrylate) (PHFBA) and poly(perfluorodecyl acrylate) (PPFDA) are coated on paper surfaces by an initiated CVD (iCVD) technique to make the paper surfaces hydrophobic. Hydrophobicity is found to be an important factor in order for the graphene to be transferred onto the paper substrate. Although surfaces coated with PPFDA possess better hydrophobicity owing to their longer perfluoroalkyl group and higher roughness, the graphene transfer is found to be more successful on a PHFBA‐coated surface. A thin film of PHFBA on the paper surface acts as a prime layer for effective and defect‐free transfer of graphene and makes the paper surface ideal and robust during the graphene transfer process. The as‐transferred graphene layer on the PHFBA‐coated paper surface shows high conductivity values, even after repeated folding and flattening cycles.

Amphiphilic Copolymer Thin Films with Short Fluoroalkyl Side Chains for Antibiofilm Properties at the Solid–Liquid–Air Interface

“…Homopolymers depicted in Figure a–c were extremely smooth with RMS roughness below 1 nm, confirming the smoothness of the iCVD polymers . While perfluorinated polymers with long chains synthesized by iCVD, for example, PPFDA, tend to form crystalline structures with RMS roughness >30 nm, − thus creating rough surfaces, as compared to more common iCVD polymer thin films with surface roughness <1 nm. ,, The fluorinated polymers synthesized here, with their fluorinated chain lengths of 3 (HFBA) and 6 (PFOA) did not show any crystallinity, as demonstrated by X-ray diffraction (XRD) (Figure S4). …”

Nanoscale control by chemically vapour-deposited polymers

“…117 Graphene was effectively transferred to paper substrates coated with iCVD hydrophobic homopolymers from PFDA or hexafluorobutylacrylate. 118 iCVD homopolymerization of V3D3, V4D4, or DVB yields fluorine-free amorphous covalent network displaying low surface roughness(< 2 nm rms). 112 These smooth surface modification layers can outperform the lower surface energy PFDA-containing films for some protective applications, including the reducing the formation of inorganic scale.…”

Surface Modification of Stainless-Steel Membrane using a Closed-Batch iCVD Reactor for Oil/Water Separation

“…The FTIR spectrum was baseline. The spectra displayed the following major peak assignments: C-H stretching vibration (at around 2850-2950 cm -1 ), C=O stretching (at around 1730 cm -1 , alkyl chains (at around 1458 and 1358 cm -1 ), stretching vibrations -CF 2 (at around 1246 cm -1 ), and -CF 2 -CF 3 end group (at around 1161 cm -1 ) [30][31][32]. The spectrum exhibits narrow, sharp and strong peaks, which belong to the functional groups of the chemical structure of PPFDA.…”