Observation of Residual PMMA on Graphene Surface by Using IR-Absorption Mapping

Graphene, a two-dimensional graphite material consisting of sp2-hybridized carbons. The properties of graphene such as extremely high carrier mobility, high thermal conductivity, low resistivity, large specific make it a promising materail of divices and material. Typically, poly (methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) is used when graphene transfer to other substrates. To remove PMMA on graphene, people used to dip the graphene into the acetone. However, it is known that the remove of PMMA on the graphene is difficult to completely using the acetone. Therefore, to remove the PMMA on the graphene surface, many research groups have employed various methods such as the thermal treatment, photothermal method, and other solvent. Nevertheless, a part of PMMA still remain on graphene surface. Usually, to observe the residual PMMA on graphene surface, topography of graphene surface scanned by atomic force microscopy is used. However, in that case, we can not distinguish PMMA and other particles. In this study, to confirm the residual PMMA on graphene surface, we employed novel measurement technique which is available to distinguish PMMA and other particles by means of photothermal effect.