Patent ID: 8895352

Claim:
A method for forming a thin coating on a surface of a carbon-based material, comprising the steps of: depositing an ultra thin silicon nucleation layer to a thickness of from about two angstroms to about 10 angstroms on at least a portion of an exposed area of the surface of the carbon-based material to facilitate nucleation of the coating on the surface of the carbon-based material yet leaving electrical characteristics of the carbon-based material unaffected by the ultra thin silicon nucleation layer, wherein the ultra thin silicon nucleation layer comprises amorphous silicon and wherein the carbon-based material comprises a graphene flake or a portion thereof having from about one to about two layers of graphene; creating a neutral charge state in the ultra thin silicon nucleation layer; and depositing the thin coating to a thickness of from about two angstroms to about 100 angstroms over the ultra thin silicon nucleation layer to form the thin coating which is continuous on the surface of the carbon-based material, wherein the neutral charge state is created in the ultra thin silicon nucleation layer by depositing the coating over the ultra thin silicon nucleation layer in situ and thereby converting the ultra thin silicon nucleation layer into a neutral charge molecule, wherein the ultra thin silicon nucleation layer, as deposited, forms a non-continuous layer directly on the exposed area of the surface of the carbon-based material and wherein the non-continuous layer facilitates nucleation of the thin coating that is continuous on the surface of the carbon-based material.