Rapid Preparation of Cu(111) Foil with Large Single-Crystal Grains Through a Graphene Induction and Contactless Annealing Method

Abstract

There is a growing interest in preparing large-size Cu(111) foil for achieving high performance in various applications. In this work, a simple two-step method using graphene induction and contactless annealing was designed to rapidly prepare Cu(111) foil with  large single-crystal grains. The graphene film grown on the Cu surface in the first step by chemical vapor deposition serves as a template for the orientation transition of the Cu foil in a subsequent high-temperature annealing. The (111) orientation transformation of the entire copper foil was achieved within 20 minutes with single-crystal grains in size of above 30 square centimeters, and the corresponding speed is ten times higher than that prepared in traditional annealing process. This work paves a facile and significant way for the rapid preparation of Cu(111) foil for further practical applications.

Keywords: Cu(111), Graphene, contactless annealing, interface energy