Effect of current stress during thermal CVD of multilayer graphene on cobalt catalytic layer

To improve the crystallinity of multilayer graphene (MLG) by CVD at a low temperature, the effect of current stress during thermal CVD on a cobalt (Co) catalytic layer was investigated. The crystallinity of MLG obtained by CVD with current was higher than that without current at the same temperature. This indicates that current has effects besides the Joule heating effect. The current effects on the Co catalytic layer and the MLG growth reaction were investigated, and it was found that current had small effects on the grain size and crystal structure of the Co catalyst and large effects on the MLG growth reaction such as large grain growth and a low activation energy of 0.49 eV, which is close to the value reported for carbon surface diffusion on Co. It is considered that the enhancement of MLG growth reaction by current leads to the improved crystallinity of MLG at a relatively low temperature.