Understanding of Growth Habits of $VO_2$ Film on Graphene and Their Effects on Metal to Insulator $Transition_2$

Growth of metal oxides on graphene may lead to a better understanding of delicate effects of their growth habits on their underlying physics. The vanadium dioxide ($VO_2$) is well known for its metal-to-insulator transition accompanied by a reversible first order structural phase transition at 340 K. This transition makes $VO_2$ a potentially useful material for applications in electrical and optical devices. We report a successful growth of $VO_2$ nanostructures on a graphene substrate via a vapor-solid transport route. As-grown $VO_2$ nanostructures on graphene were systematically characterized by field emission scanning electron microscopy, x-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, FT-IR spectroscopy and high resolution transmission electron microscopy. These results indicate that the strain between $VO_2$ and graphene layers may be easily controlled by the number of underlying graphene layer. We also found that the strain in-between $VO_2$ and graphene layer affected its metal-to-insulator transition characteristics. This study demonstrates a new way for synthesizing $VO_2$ in a desired phase on the transparent conducting graphene substrate and an easy pathway for controlling metal-to-insulator phase transition via strain.