Although graphene on metal surfaces has been extensively investigated, the comprehensive and quantitative experimental results exploring the growth mechanism of graphene on metal surfaces are quite few. Employing in situ and time-resolved X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy measurements, we report the comprehensive and quantitative data for the thermodynamics and kinetics of both the C1-to-graphene transformation reaction on Co(0001) covered with C1 adatoms and graphene islands and the C2-to-graphene transformation reaction on Co(0001) covered with C2 dimers and graphene islands. Both transformation reactions proceed via carbon cluster attachment mechanism. The enthalpy and apparent activation energy were determined, respectively, to be 261 and
139 kJ/mol for the C1-to-graphene transformation reaction, and
287 and
280 kJ/mol for the C2-to-graphene transformation reaction. The C1-to-graphene transformation reaction on Co(0001) likely proceeds without the formation of C2 dimers. These experimental data provide benchmark experimental results for fundamentally understanding the graphene growth mechanism on metal surfaces.