Electrical and Structural Feature of Monolayer Graphene Produced by Pulse Current Unzipping and Microwave Exfoliation of Carbon Nanotubes

Abstract

The electrical conductivity and structural properties of monolayer graphene (MLG) have been studied. MLG is fabricated from single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) using high direct current pulse and microwave irradiation. Transformed MLG initially obtained from SWCNTs was not a stable planar structure because of its high surface energy. Therefore, they became stacked together to form the few-layer graphene structure. With the exfoliation process using an alkali metal, the stacked structure changes to a monolayer structure. A variety of characterizing techniques, such as a field emission scanning electron microscopy, high resolution transmission electron microscopy, high resolution Raman spectroscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy were used for the analysis of MLG structures.