Laser-induced graphene regrowth for repairing damaged graphene coating on Ni substrate

Graphene shows excellent performance as the thinnest protective coating, such as super-high electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, anticorrosion, and antifriction. However, graphene cannot provide sustainable protection as the surface coating due to its nanoscale thickness. Here, we explored a novel approach to repairing the damaged area of graphene film by laser induced regrowth of graphene. Graphene film was firstly in-situ grown on the nickel surface, along with a large number of carbon sources implanted into the nickel bulk. Once the surface graphene was damaged, the carbon source in the bulk would be re-precipitated by the laser inducing to form new graphene film on surface and repair the damaged area. The regrowth process depended strongly on the way of thermal input and the laser parameters. The results showed that only under the appropriate laser parameters, the graphene can be successfully regrown on the damaged area. The mechanism of regrowth and self-repairing was discussed by experiment results and theoretic analysis. This in-situ self-repaired graphene/carbon-rich metal composite shows a great potential in the field of metal protection against corrosion, friction, arc-ablating, etc.

Automated summary

A novel approach of laser induced regrowth of graphene was explored to repair the damaged area of graphene film, which showed great potential in metal protection against corrosion, friction, arc-ablating, etc.