How surface tension matters in polymer-free graphene transfer

Abstract The main goal of this work is to achieve a direct transfer of graphene and examine the exact effect of surface tension (ST) on graphene during this type of transfer. To reach this target, we designed a specific transfer container with two-sided ports to facilitate replacing liquids underneath graphene and monitor the effect of ST. We prepared liquids with various STs by mixing pure deionized-water with different ratios of isopropanol (IPA). Our results indicate that high ST does not break the graphene structure if graphene has good quality. Besides, a ST gap (STG) can be applied to graphene at a specific level without damaging the graphene monolayer. Comparing those results to the …