Simultaneous Etching and Doping by Cu St

Cu etching is a critical process for producing large-area graphene via chemical vapor deposition (CVD), essential for effectively removing Cu catalysts and transferring graphene to substrates for various applications. Despite its significance, the Cu etching methodology has been considerably less explored compared to doping techniques. The prevalent etching agents generally contain strong oxidizers leading to the conversion of metallic Cu to Cu2+, which may initiate side reactions and induce defects in the graphene structure. In this study, we introduce metal-chelating agents such as benzimidazole (BI) to the etching solution, which mitigates the reactivity of the Cu-etching solution by forming coordination compounds with Cu2+. The graphene films generated with the Cu-stabilizing agent demonstrated sheet resistances as low as approximately 200 Ohm/sq without the necessity for additional doping. Notably, this doping effect proved stable for over 10 months in ambient conditions due to the protective layer of graphene over the BI dopants, showcasing superior stability in contrast to traditional strong p-dopants like HAuCl4. Our findings underscore the promise of this integrated etching and doping strategy for streamlined and efficient production of high-performance graphene electrodes with heightened conductivity.