Etching of graphene

With direct exposure, graphene can be hydrogenated, but also etched, particularly with a long time exposure (several minutes to hours)

Domains (sp^3, defective, activated)

During hydrogenation, the coverage of the graphene layer is first dominated by activated area, then by distorted area and finally by sp^3 defects.

Atomic hydrogenation of graphene

An atomic hydrogen atom can attach to the graphene surface. This phenomenon competes with removal of a chemisorbed hydrogen with release of H_2 (Eley–Rideal mechanism)

Work in progress

The following link allows to download a program to observe hydrogenation of graphene.

Link to be created