Incorporation of small BN domains in graphene during CVD using methane, boric acid and nitrogen gas

Chemical doping of graphene with small boron nitride (BN) domains has been shown to be an effective way of permanently modulating the electronic properties in graphene. Herein we show a facile method of growing large area graphene doped with small BN domains on copper foils using a single step CVD route with methane, boric acid powder and nitrogen gas as the carbon, boron and nitrogen sources respectively. This facile and safe process avoids the use of boranes and ammonia. Optical microscopy confirmed that continuous films were grown and Raman spectroscopy confirmed changes in the electronic structure of the grown BN doped graphene. Using XPS studies we find that both B and N can be substituted into the graphene structure in the form of small BN domains to give a B–N–C system. A novel structure for the BN doped graphene is proposed.