Temperature Dependence of Raman-Active In-Plane E(2g) Phonons in Layered Graphene and h-BN Flakes

Thermal properties of sp(2) systems such as graphene and hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) have attracted significant attention because of both systems being excellent thermal conductors. This research reports micro-Raman measurements on the in-plane E(2g) optical phonon peaks (~ 1580 cm(−1) in graphene layers and ~ 1362 cm(−1) in h-BN layers) as a function of temperature from − 194 to 200 °C. The h-BN flakes show higher sensitivity to temperature-dependent frequency shifts and broadenings than graphene flakes. Moreover, the thermal effect in the c direction on phonon frequency in h-BN layers is more sensitive than that in graphene layers but on phonon broadening in h-BN layers is similar as that in graphene layers. These results are very useful to understand the thermal properties and related physical mechanisms in h-BN and graphene flakes for applications of thermal devices.