A theoretical analysis of the surface dependent binding, peeling and folding of graphene on single crystal copper

The binding, peeling and folding behavior of graphene on different surfaces of single crystal copper were examined theoretically. We show that the binding energy is the highest on the Cu(1 1 1), and follows the order of Cu(1 1 1) > (1 0 0) > (1 1 0) > (1 1 2). Conventional theory is capable of capturing the dynamic process of graphene peeling seen from molecular dynamics simulations. We show that the number of graphene layers on Cu surfaces could be distinguished by performing simple peeling tests. Further investigation of the folding/unfolding of graphene on Cu surfaces shows that Cu(1 1 1) favors the growth of monolayer graphene. These observations on the interaction between graphene with single crystal Cu surfaces might provide guidelines for improving graphene fabrication.