To promote the nucleation and growth of graphene in arc discharge process by magnetic field and H2

• The growth of graphene in arc discharge is promoted by magnetic field and H2.
• The magnetic field distribution played a key role in the growth of graphene.
• The graphene sheets are mainly of 1–5 layers.

Few-layer graphene sheets were synthesized by magnetic field induced arc discharge method using He–H2 mixture as buffer gas and Ni–Y2O3 powder as catalyst. The effect of hydrogen pressure, magnetic field, and Ni–Y2O3 catalyst were studied with respect to the morphology and structure of the synthesized carbon materials. The samples were characterized by SEM, TEM, TGA and Raman spectroscopy. The SEM images and Raman spectroscopy results revealed that the hydrogen pressure and magnetic field played a key role in the catalytic growth of graphene. High resolution TEM analysis showed that the graphene are mainly of 1–5 layers. The magnetic field induced arc discharge method provided a low cost and ecofriendly route for the preparation of high-quality and few-layer graphene.

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