Plasma-based synthesis of graphene and applications: a focused review

Graphene is a highly sought-after material for a wide range of applications, particularly in areas such as energy harvesting and storage, electronics, electrochemical sensors, biomedical, composites, and coatings. The synthesis of high-quality graphene is a precondition for its real-time application. However, conventional synthesis methods have certain drawbacks including laborious procedures and structural defects in graphene nanosheets. Plasma-based synthesis techniques such as plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition and atmospheric pressure microwave plasma are high-tech synthesis practices that can produce graphene without any solvents in a few seconds. This article reviews these state-of-the-art techniques emphasizing mainly their process parameters for the synthesis of high-grade graphene, which is defect-free, and comprises mono to few layers, great carrier mobility, and high purity. The applications of as-synthesized graphene in various fields are also provided. Moreover, the potential breakthroughs and the prospect of these techniques are also discussed in this work.