Graphene as the 2D material with extraordinary properties has attracted the interest of research communities to master the synthesis of this remarkable material at a large scale without sacrificing the quality. Although Top-Down and Bottom-Up approaches produce graphene of different quality, chemical vapour deposition (CVD) stands as the most promising technique. This review details the leading CVD methods for graphene growth, including hot-wall, cold-wall and plasma-enhanced CVD. The role of process conditions and growth substrates on the nucleation and growth of graphene film are thoroughly discussed. The essential characterisation techniques in the study of CVD-grown graphene are reported, highlighting the characteristics of a sample which can be extracted from those techniques. This review also offers a brief overview of the applications to which CVD-grown graphene is well-suited, drawing particular attention to its potential in the sectors of energy and electronic devices.

Accuracy, selectivity, sensitivity, low cost, and rapid analysis are all challenging standards for analytical chemists. Gas chromatography (GC) and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) techniques are known to meet these standards in addition to affording separation ability. However, these methods still have some limitations, including the long time needed for sample preparation for analyte detection. Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) has been considered as an alternative technique for analyte analysis using nanoparticle substrates. However, concentrations of analytes lower than 10⁻⁶ M may not be efficiently detected by nanostructured materials without pre-concentration processes. Thus, in this mini review, we present the microextraction techniques that have been recently combined with SERS to enhance analyte signals using both liquid-phase and solid sorbents. Additional chemical modifications that have been utilized for SERS substrates are also highlighted. Finally, the structure of the analytes detected by SERS combined with the extraction methods and their detection limits are also presented.