The role of copper pretreatment on the morphology of graphene grown by chemical vapor deposition

• High quality graphene is obtained when grown on electropolished copper using CVD.
• Electropolishing ensures large reduction in defect density and roughness of copper.
• The graphene layer on copper significantly reduces the corrosion rate of copper.

The effect of pretreatment of copper on the ensuing morphology and surface coverage of graphene grown using chemical vapor deposition (CVD) has been investigated. Specifically, graphene grown on electropolished copper (EP-Cu) was analyzed with respect to its surface morphology, surface roughness and thickness, and compared with graphene grown on as cold-rolled acetic acid cleaned copper (AA-Cu). Results show an improvement in the quality of graphene obtained using EP-Cu over AA-Cu. Additionally, electrochemical polarization studies were performed on annealed and graphene coated EP-Cu in acidic solutions. The results indicate that corrosion inhibition of EP-Cu is possible through the use of graphene films.

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