CVD synthesis of nitrogen-doped graphene using urea

This work provides an effective low-cost synthesis and in-depth mechanistic study of high quality large-area nitrogen-doped graphene (NG) films. These films were synthesized using urea as nitrogen source and methane as carbon source, and were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Raman spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The N doping level was determined to be 3.72 at.%, and N atoms were suggested to mainly incorporated in a pyrrolic N configuration. All distinct Raman peaks display a shift due to the nitrogen-doping and compressive strain. The increase in urea concentration broadens the D and 2D peak’s Full Width at Half Maximum (FWHM), due to the decrease of mean free path of phonons. The N-doped graphene exhibited an n-type doping behavior with a considerably high carrier mobility of about 74.1 cm2/(V s), confirmed by electrical transport measurements.