Direct synthesis of graphene on 3D printed metal alloy substrates.

Graphene has attracted significant interest in biomedical fields due to its biocompatibility and chemical stabilty. Graphene synthesis on various metal substrates has been demonstrated to date. In many applications large areas graphene films are prepared by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) on catalytic metal surfaces and subsequently transferred onto target substrate or devices, which include flat, rigid and/or flexible substrates. However, an increased interest in the use of graphene in medical applications might require its direct fabrication on a substrate other than common metal surfaces such as Cu, Ni, Co, etc.

Here, we report on a fabrication of a graphene on 3D printed alloy substrates with different morphologies using direct CVD synthesis. The number of layers, homogeneity and crystallinity of graphene grown on a large area of a 3D printed metal alloy disks was confirmed by Raman spectroscopy. The microstructure and the morphology of a metal alloy substrate was investigated by atomic force microscopy (AFM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray photoelectron microscope (XPS), etc. Our results demonstrate a viable and robust process of a direct growth of graphene on non-traditional substates, such as 3D printed and/or arbitrarily shaped surfaces, which could potentially be applied to a synthesis of other 2D materials needed for biomedical industry.