Raman characterization of AB- and ABC-stacked few-layer graphene by interlayer shear modes

Stacking order of layered materials strongly influences their electronic properties. Bernal (AB) and rhombohedral (ABC) stacking are much common in few-layer graphenes. Here, we found that AB- and ABC-stacked few-layer graphenes can be well distinguished by whether their highest-frequency shear modes are observed or not in the Raman spectra at room temperature. This method can be expanded to Raman characterization of the stacking order in other two-dimensional layered materials. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.