Study of Morphology Control of Electro-Deposited Silver on Electro-Chemically Exfoliated Graphene Electrode and Its Conductivity

Abstract

Solution-processed graphene is beneficial for large-scale, low-cost production. However, its small lateral size, variable layer thickness, and uncontrollable oxidation level still restrict its widespread electronic application. In this study, a newly developed electrochemical exfoliation process was introduced, and a graphene-patched film electrode was fabricated by interfacial self-assembly. We were able to minimize the deterioration of graphene colloids during exfoliation by voltage and electrolyte modulation, but the patched structure of the graphene electrode still showed low conductivity with numerous inter-sheet junctions. Therefore, we determined the optimal conditions for the growth of fully networked silver structures on the multi-stacked graphene film by direct current electro-deposition, and these silver–graphene composite films showed significantly lowered graphene-colloid-patched film surface resistance.