The synthesis of graphene coated copper from PMMA and the anticorrosion performance of copper substrate

Abstract In this research, the low temperature process for growing graphene from solid carbon source PMMA under atmospheric pressure was firstly investigated. Through adjusting the growth temperature (600 °C–800 °C) and other process parameters, using the chemical vapor deposition method, single or double layers of graphene grown on a copper substrate. Without control pressure, this way improved controllability of graphene preparation and reduced production costs. The morphology, quality of graphene was revealed by SEM, XPS, Raman, UV–vis. Additionally, the conductive test results illustrate that the graphene on the surface of the copper matrix slightly soars the conductivity of copper. This is due to the process of annealing and growth that alters the structure of the material. The results of the Tafel experiments, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) measurements and cyclic voltammetry (CV) tests demonstrate that the graphene film can effectively improve the corrosion resistance of the copper matrix. Compared to the single layer graphene coating, double-layers graphene coating has a better anti-corrosion effect. This is in that the double-layers graphene coating can block the defects of the single-layer graphene in time, and better prevent the intrusion of Cl⁻ into the copper matrix, so as to achieve a good anti-corrosion effect.