Direct dry transfer of CVD graphene to 2D and 3D polymeric substrates

Abstract

CVD graphene is a suitable material for industrial applications, since it is possible to obtain graphene with macro dimensions (mm to cm) which is different from that obtained with other techniques. For the first time a project is dedicated to transfer process of CVD graphene for two and three dimensional substrates without causing any damage to the graphene like cracks and/or wrinkles without including the etching step. "Direct Dry Transfer - DDT" will be the technique used here. This methodology was developed and patented in collaboration by Mackenzie Presbyterian University and National University of Singapore. This project was led by Prof. Guilhermino J. M. Fechine and supported by FAPESP (2012/17197-9). The great advances of this innovative technique are the possibility of transferring large areas of graphene and control the amount of graphene transferred to the final substrate. This project will utilize the infrastructure of the SPEC project, "Graphene: Photonics and optic-electronics" (2012 / 50259-8) in the production and characterization of graphene, which will result in a large decrease of the project cost. On the other hand, the understanding of graphene-polymer interface, consequently, domain of graphene transfer processes will result in the most appropriate technology to produce devices intended by the SPEC projects. For a complete mastery of the graphene transfer is needed the understanding of the phenomena that govern this process, especially those who are directly connected to graphene-polymer interface. The strategy to solve this equation with many variables is to utilize multidisciplinary procedures that include: Theoretical calculations and simulations of graphene-polymer interface, surface properties (AFM, XPS, NEXAFS and contact angle), rheological measurements and molecular weight of the polymers. Several methodologies of polymer processing will be also used to transfer graphene to polymeric substrates with 2 and 3 dimensions. Aiming to achieve a deeper understanding at the level of the research proposed here, national and international collaborations in different areas will be part of this project. These collaborations extend to the area of synthesis and transfer of graphene (Prof. Anthony HC Neto and Prof. Barbaros Olzymaz - National University of Singapore) and evaluation of graphene-polymer interface using different approaches (Prof. Daniel Weibel - UFRGS, Dr. Julio Criginski Cezar - LNLS, Prof. Michael Huggins - University of Wollongong / Australia and Prof. Loic Hugues G. Hilliou - University of Minho / Portugal). (AU)