Graphene growth via carburization of stainless steel and application in energy storage.

A modified version of the carburization process, a widely established technique used in the steel industry for case hardening of components, is used for the growth of graphene on stainless steel. Controlled growth of high-quality single- and few-layered graphene on stainless steel (SS) foils through a liquid-phase chemical vapor deposition (CVD) technique is reported. Reversible Li intercalation in these graphene-on-SS structures is demonstrated, where graphene and SS act as electrode and current collector, respectively, providing very good electrical contact. Direct growth of an active electrode material, such as graphene, on current-collector substrates makes this a feasible and efficient process for developing thin-film battery devices.