Chemical Vapor Deposition of High‐Quality Graphene Using Carboxylated Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons as Solid Carbon Sources

Abstract Solid polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) have been explored as carbon sources for graphene synthesis via chemical vapor deposition. The pyrolytic behavior of PAHs varies depending on the attached functional groups, which in turn may affect the properties of the synthesized graphene. However, the effects of different functional groups on graphene synthesis are poorly understood. This study investigates the effects of aryl carboxylic acid groups in PAHs on graphene synthesis using pyrene and 1‐pyrene carboxylic acid (1‐PCA). Graphene synthesized from 1‐PCA is found to have a lower defect density than that synthesized from pyrene. This is attributed to the conversion of the aryl carboxylic acid group into CO ₂ gas and the subsequent Boudouard reaction. This study provides insights into the selection of PAHs for graphene synthesis.