Synthesis of few-layered graphene by H2O2 plasma etching of graphite

Herein, we reported an approach to synthesize few-layered graphene by etching of the graphite using H2O2 plasma technique. The synthesized few-layered graphene was characterized by scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The analysis showed that few-layered graphene was formed in high quality level. The XPS analysis suggested that H2O2 plasma etching of graphite could oxidize graphene and generated -C-OH and >C=O groups on the graphene surfaces. The H2O2 plasma technique is an easy and environmental friendly method to synthesize few-layered graphene from the graphite. (C) 2011 American Institute of Physics. [doi:10.1063/1.3589354]