A collaborative study between Peking University and Tinghua University in China demonstrate a faster method to grow vertical heterostructures of graphene and hexagonal boron nitride.
The main challenge in the direct growth of graphene on hexagonal boron nitride is the inertness of the latter, which only allows for a low decomposition rate of the carbon precursors. This translates to ultraslow (1nm min-1) growth rates since the carbon decomposition needs to be facilitated only by the high temperature temperature and not by a catalyst.
In order to address this, the scientists have developed a recipe utilising a nickel-based precursor, nickelocene. Nickelocene allows for a faster decomposition of carbon and speeds up the graphene growth process on hexagonal boron nitride by a factor of 10.
The study also demonstrate the use a hBN/graphene heterostructure as a substrate for an organic light emitting diode.
Read more: “Nickelocene-Precursor-Facilitated Fast Growth of Graphene/h-BN Vertical Heterostructures and Its Applications in OLEDs” Advanced Materials 2017
