Nickel Induced Crystallization of Carbon During Deposition

A single-step process for the preparation of very thin polycrystalline carbon films on uniform nickel thin films is presented. The process temperature is significantly reduced in comparison to annealing of an amorphous carbon film without the aid of a transition metal. The degree of graphitization and the average grain size of the resulting films are examined by means of Raman-spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy. The chemical state of the carbon atoms is analyzed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Additionally, nuclear reaction analysis is employed to confirm the temperature independence of the carbon absorption on the nickel surface. We believe that the process holds a potential for the synthesis of crystalline thin films or single layers of different 2D nanomaterials.