Measuring Graphene Adhesion on Silicon Substrate by Single and Dual Nanoparticle-Loaded Blister

van der Waals adhesion behavior at the interface between graphene and support substrates is important to characterize the performance of graphene-based sensors. Here an improved, general, and direct method of determining the adhesion energies of monolayer/few-layer/multilayer graphene sheets on silicon wafers is demonstrated by measuring the debonding radius of axisymmetric blisters loaded with both one and two nanoparticles. Along with the established model for large deflection of circular membranes trapping nanoparticles at graphene–silicon interface, the adhesion energies for monolayer, 3–5 layer, and 10–15 layer graphene membranes are obtained as 0.453 J m^–2, 0.317 J m^–2, and 0.276 J m^–2, respectively, which conform exceedingly well to the previously measured results. This presented method can be further extended to measure adhesion energies between other 2D materials and various substrates.