From Solid Carbon Sources to Graphene

Abstract Chemical vapor deposition on metal substrates using gaseous hydrocarbon as carbon feedstock has proven to be a feasible way for synthesis of large‐area and uniform graphene films. Meanwhile, rearrangement of amorphous carbon species extracted from solid carbon sources into crystalline graphene not only offers an alternative route for graphene growth but also provides a powerful tool to excavate the underlying mechanisms of graphene formation. In this review, we discuss the processes of extracting carbon species from various solid carbon sources to form graphene. We summarize the typical steps of solid carbon sources to graphene transition and evaluate the resultant graphene film quality with regard to electrical performance. Unveiling the detailed solid carbon to graphene transition process paves the way for a reproducible production of graphene with controlled layer number, defect type and density, toward the final end of graphene's commercial utilizations with low cost.