The exceptional properties of graphene originate from its two-dimensional polymeric structure of sp2-bonded carbon. This feature also causes graphene to grow on metal substrates through mechanisms that are strikingly different from those of conventional heteroepitaxy. We provide here a brief review of graphene growth on metals, a subject with a rich history even before the recent explosion of interest in graphene. The current activities related to graphene growth on metals have been motivated by the need to develop low-cost, scalable processes for graphene synthesis and to understand how graphene–metal interfaces behave in devices. In this article, we examine the current state of the art, emphasizing the basic processes that distinguish graphene growth from normal crystal growth.
