Fabrication of Graphene Sheets Using an Atmospheric Pressure Thermal Plasma Jet System

The mass production of cost-effective, large area, defect-free and high crystal quality graphene sheets with a high yield is a challenging task. In order to investigate the mechanisms involved, we report on the synthesis of graphene sheets by a homemade atmospheric pressure thermal plasma jet system, which is a single-step and less time-consuming technique. The samples were prepared by using pure Ar gas and a mixture of Ar and N2. The microstructure of the synthesized graphene sheets was characterized with the help of Raman spectroscopy, field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. The appearance of G and 2D peaks in the Raman spectrum confirmed the formation of graphene. Moreover, we observed that the addition of nitrogen increased the production of the graphene sheets but compromised the quality of those graphene sheets by increasing their structural defects. The morphology of the synthesized samples studied via FE-SEM images showed that the sheets were composed of multilayers. FTIR spectra show the presence of C=C and a hydroxyl group directly bonded to the aromatic hydrocarbon.