Guiding Graphene Growth on Insulators via Energy Strategies in Chemical Vapor Deposition.

The controlled preparation of high-quality graphene is essential for its practical application. Chemical vapor deposition (CVD) emerging as a prominent means to synthesize the material owing to its superior controllability and compatibility. To address the complex transfer issues associated with graphene growth on metal substrates via CVD, growing graphene directly on insulating substrates is a promising alternative. However, this method has several limitations, such as small domain size, high defect density, and slow growth rates. Despite numerous strategies for enhancing graphene growth on insulators, the intrinsic mechanisms that affect energy changes during CVD processes remain underexplored. The review provides an in-depth analysis of these strategies, focusing on their effects on the three critical stages of CVD growth: precursor decomposition, nucleation, and edge growth. The energy dynamics at each stage are examined, highlighting the role of metal additives and alternative precursors in reducing the pyrolysis energy barriers and improving growth efficiency. In Addition, this review discusses the strategies for enhancing graphene nucleation and edge growth to achieve high-quality monolayer graphene. Finally, the challenges and future prospects of the direct growth of high-quality graphene on insulating substrates are presented, offering insights into the path forward for industrial-scale graphene production.