Synthesis of Nitrogen-Doped Graphene on Pt(111) by Chemical Vapor Deposition

Chemical doping of graphene with foreign atoms is one of the most promising ways to modify the electronic structure of graphene. We fabricated nitrogen (N)-doped graphene on a Pt(111) surface through a chemical vapor deposition method; the heated substrate was exposed to such N-containing organic molecules as pyridine and acrylonitrile. Analysis by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and Raman spectroscopy revealed that N-doped graphene was formed on a Pt(111) surface from pyridine at the substrate temperature (T-S) higher than 500 degrees C, while nitrogen was not doped at T-S higher than 700 degrees C. Exposing the heated substrate to acrylonitrile also led to formation of graphene but nitrogen was not incorporated at any T-S. On the basis of the experimental results, we discuss the growth mechanisms of N-doped graphene at low and high T-S.