Seeded growth of large single-crystal copper foils with high-index facets

Muhong Wu, Zhibin Zhang, Xiaozhi Xu, Zhihong Zhang, Yunrui Duan, Jichen Dong, Ruixi Qiao, Sifan You, Li Wang, Jiajie Qi, Dingxin Zou, Nianze Shang, Yubo Yang, Hui Li, Lan Zhu, Junliang Sun, Haijun Yu, Peng Gao, Xuedong Bai, Ying Jiang, Zhu-Jun Wang, Feng Ding (), Dapeng Yu (), Enge Wang () and Kaihui Liu ()
Additional contact information
Muhong Wu: Peking University
Zhibin Zhang: Peking University
Xiaozhi Xu: South China Normal University
Zhihong Zhang: Peking University
Yunrui Duan: Institute for Basic Science
Jichen Dong: Institute for Basic Science
Ruixi Qiao: Peking University
Sifan You: Peking University
Li Wang: Peking University
Jiajie Qi: Peking University
Dingxin Zou: Southern University of Science and Technology
Nianze Shang: Peking University
Yubo Yang: Beijing University of Technology
Hui Li: Shandong University
Lan Zhu: Peking Union Medical College Hospital
Junliang Sun: Peking University
Haijun Yu: Beijing University of Technology
Peng Gao: Peking University
Xuedong Bai: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Ying Jiang: Peking University
Zhu-Jun Wang: Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich
Feng Ding: Institute for Basic Science
Dapeng Yu: Southern University of Science and Technology
Enge Wang: Peking University
Kaihui Liu: Peking University

Nature, 2020, vol. 581, issue 7809, 406-410

Abstract: Abstract The production of large single-crystal metal foils with various facet indices has long been a pursuit in materials science owing to their potential applications in crystal epitaxy, catalysis, electronics and thermal engineering1–5. For a given metal, there are only three sets of low-index facets ({100}, {110} and {111}). In comparison, high-index facets are in principle infinite and could afford richer surface structures and properties. However, the controlled preparation of single-crystal foils with high-index facets is challenging, because they are neither thermodynamically6,7 nor kinetically3 favourable compared to low-index facets6–18. Here we report a seeded growth technique for building a library of single-crystal copper foils with sizes of about 30 × 20 square centimetres and more than 30 kinds of facet. A mild pre-oxidation of polycrystalline copper foils, followed by annealing in a reducing atmosphere, leads to the growth of high-index copper facets that cover almost the entire foil and have the potential of growing to lengths of several metres. The creation of oxide surface layers on our foils means that surface energy minimization is not a key determinant of facet selection for growth, as is usually the case. Instead, facet selection is dictated randomly by the facet of the largest grain (irrespective of its surface energy), which consumes smaller grains and eliminates grain boundaries. Our high-index foils can be used as seeds for the growth of other Cu foils along either the in-plane or the out-of-plane direction. We show that this technique is also applicable to the growth of high-index single-crystal nickel foils, and we explore the possibility of using our high-index copper foils as substrates for the epitaxial growth of two-dimensional materials. Other applications are expected in selective catalysis, low-impedance electrical conduction and heat dissipation.

Date: 2020
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DOI: 10.1038/s41586-020-2298-5

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