Rapid preparation of graphene-skinned alumina fiber fabric and its electromagnetic interference shielding application

Kangyi Zheng^{¹^,²}, Chaojie Yu^{²^,³}, Wenjuan Li^{²^,⁴}, Fushun liang^{²^,⁵}, Longfei Liu^{²^,⁶}, Ruojuan Liu^⁴, Hao Yuan^⁴, Yuyao Yang^{²^,⁴}, Fan Yang^{²^,⁵}, Shuting Cheng^⁷, Wenjing Jiang^{²^,⁸}, Qingxu Su^{²^,⁴}, Mengxiong Liu^{²^,⁴}, Yulin Han^{²^,⁶}, Xiaobai Wang^{²^,⁸}

(), Xiaoli Sun^²

(), Yue Qi^²

(), Zhongfan Liu^{²^,⁴}

()

1College of Energy, Soochow Institute for Energy and Materials Innovations (SIEMIS), Jiangsu Provincial Key Laboratory for Advanced Carbon Materials and Wearable Energy Technologies, Soochow University, Suzhou 215006, China

2Beijing Graphene Institute (BGI), Beijing 100095, China

3School of Physics and Electronics, Shandong Normal University, Jinan 250014, China

4Centre for Nanochemistry, Beijing Science and Engineering Centre for Nanocarbons, Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China

5Academy for Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China

6Academy for Advanced Interdisciplinary Research, North University of China, Taiyuan 030051, China

7School of Population and Health, Renmin University of China, Beijing 100872, China

8Department of Chemistry, School of Light Industry Science and Engineering, Beijing Technology and Business University, Beijing 100048, China

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In this study, graphene was rapidly prepared on commercial alumina fiber fabric (AFF) using propane (C₃H₈) as the carbon source. Compared to traditional carbonsources like methane (CH₄) and ethylene (C₂H₄), the growth and nucleation rates of graphene synthesized from C₃H₈ were significantly enhanced.

Abstract

Direct growth of graphene on dielectric or insulating materials via chemical vapor deposition (CVD) offers a novel, transfer-free approach for various applications. However, challenges remain in growing graphene on non-catalytic substrates. In particular, the low growth rate of graphene remains a significant barrier to its large-scale production. In this study, propane (C₃H₈) was used as the carbon source to prepare graphene on commercial alumina fiber fabric (AFF) via CVD, resulting in the synthesis of a novel material: graphene-skinned alumina fiber fabric (GAFF). Through comparative analysis of the graphene growth behaviors using C₃H₈ and traditional carbon sources (CH₄ and C₂H₄) on AFF, the growth mechanism of C₃H₈ was elucidated. The pyrolysis of C₃H₈ generates the unique carbon species C₃H, which exhibits distinct advantages in terms of migration, nucleation, and growth on AFF. Graphene nucleation density using C₃H₈ was found to be 160 times higher than that of CH₄ and 50 times higher than C₂H₄. The resulting GAFF exhibits a wide tunable electrical conductivity range (1 to 7000 Ω·sq⁻¹), high tensile strength (> 170 MPa), lightweight properties, flexibility, and a hierarchical macrostructure. These characteristics make GAFF a promising candidate for various applications, including electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding.

Keywords

chemical vapor deposition (CVD)graphene-skinned alumina fiber fabric (GAFF)propane electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding

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References

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