Graphene production using chemical vapor deposition

Graphene has been known about in a theoretical sense for the better part of a century, but it was first physically produced in 2004 by Novoselov and Gaim using graphite flakes and adhesive tape. Since then, graphene has been a heavily researched form of carbon. In its purest form, it is a twodimensional hexagonal lattice [1]. Since its discovery, graphene has been very difficult to produce, so its applications to society have been mainly theoretical in nature. The standard method is known as exfoliation, which produces very high quality graphene, but in very small amounts. Now with the development of graphene production through chemical vapor deposition, graphene can be produced efficiently enough to begin using it in a much more widespread manner. An efficient production technique has been strongly sought after for some time due to graphene’s incredible properties, one of which is that graphene is the thinnest known conductor, and is ten times stronger and more versatile than the current thinnest-used conductor, ITO (indium tin oxide) [2]. Chemical vapor deposition (CVD) is a process that was created by Union Carbide in the 1950s and has since constantly evolved and gotten better [3]. It is used in some form in practically everything produced industrially today. Production of graphene is one of the most recent applications of chemical vapor deposition. It is done in four steps, heating, annealing of the metal substrate, deposition of graphene, and cooling [1]. The ideal substrate for this process is copper foil and the gases used are a combination of hydrogen and argon [2]. Large-scale production of graphene will lead to many advances in technology because it is such a versatile structure. It will be an upgrade to many devices currently made, making devices lighter and stronger. This is really important and can lead to things like flexible touchscreens and phones. Flexible technology will be invaluable in applications with the military and even revolutionize life in the private sector. I believe that graphene is the key to many technological breakthroughs in the coming years, so the more readily available it is, the quicker innovations will be able to come to market at reasonable prices. Engineers need to work on this because development of all these devices requires testing and modifications to create optimal devices. This is a new process, so there is still room for improvement. Without engineers working to find the best methods of production, we could be missing out on increased output of graphene, in turn causing costs will be higher than they could. Companies having to spend more money on production takes away from research and development funding, which could stagnate research in other innovative technologies.