The objective of the implementation doctorate was to develop systems for graphene synthesis on copper surfaces and to optimize synthesis conditions to enable effective coating of copper wires and tracks with graphene, along with establishing methods for assessing the quality of the resulting coatings.
As a result of the work, two systems for graphene synthesis via plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) were developed. The first system enables continuous coating of copper wires of various diameters, while the second, a batch system, supports both low-temperature synthesis for coating copper tracks and high-temperature synthesis aimed at producing high-quality graphene.
Process optimization enabled the production of high-quality graphene on copper substrates in both systems. During these efforts, comprehensive guidelines for working with copper substrates were created, allowing for the fabrication of monolayer graphene on commercially available M1E copper. Methods for transferring graphene from foils, wires, and copper tracks were developed, enabling full characterization of the obtained graphene and its application to a wide range of target substrates.
The research presented in the dissertation also includes comparative aging and high-temperature resistance tests of the fabricated graphene coatings. These studies were conducted on copper wires of commercial purity class M1E. Wires coated with PECVD graphene, graphene oxide, and a commercial lacquer were subjected to salt-spray corrosion tests. The degree of copper surface protection and changes in resistance under elevated temperature were evaluated. The studies demonstrated both the structural stability of graphene after anticorrosion testing and comparable or improved resistance performance at high temperatures relative to commercial coatings.
The work was carried out at Łukasiewicz – PORT in collaboration with the Department of Polymer and Carbon Materials at the Faculty of Chemistry, Wrocław University of Science and Technology. The dissertation supervisors were Prof. Grażyna Gryglewicz and Dr. hab. Alicja Bachmatiuk.
