Aligned Rectangular Few-Layer Graphene Domains on Copper Surfaces

We show that aligned rectangular few layer graphene (FLG) domains can be produced on Cu surfaces using atmospheric pressure chemical vapor deposition. For the growth temperatures of 990 and 1000 °C the FLG domains are primarily hexagonal in shape, but at 980 °C, morphology transition of FLG domains is observed associated with different Cu grains. Rectangular FLG domains are synthesized for the first time and we show using electron backscattered diffraction that they only grow on Cu grains with (111) orientation because of the interplay between the atomic structure of the Cu lattice and the graphene domains. We show that hexagonal FLG domains can form on nearly all other non-(111) Cu surfaces. These results indicate that even at atmospheric pressure, the interplay between the Cu atomic structure and graphene formation can be strong and lead to aligned rectangular domains.