Two distinct phases of bilayer graphene films on Ru(0001)

Monolayer and Bilayer Graphene on Ru(0001): Layer-Specific and Moiré-Site-Dependent Phonon Excitations

Graphene phonons are excited by the local injection of electrons and holes from the tip of a scanning tunneling microscope. Despite the strong graphene-Ru(0001) hybridization, monolayer graphene unexpectedly exhibits pronounced phonon signatures in inelastic electron tunneling spectroscopy. Spatially resolved spectroscopy reveals that the strength of the phonon signal depends on the site of the moiré lattice with a substantial red-shift of phonon energies compared to those of free graphene. Bilayer graphene gives rise to more pronounced spectral signatures of vibrational quanta with energies nearly matching the free graphene phonon energies. Spectroscopy data of bilayer graphene indicate moreover the presence of a Dirac cone plasmon excitation.

Growth and electronic properties of bi- and trilayer graphene on Ir(111)

Interesting electronic properties arise in vertically stacked graphene sheets, some of which can be controlled by mutual orientation of the adjacent layers. In this study, we investigate the MBE grown multilayer graphene on Ir(111) by means of STM, LEED and XPS and we examine the influence of the substrate on the geometric and electronic properties of bilayer graphene by employing XSW and ARPES measurements. We find that the MBE method does not limit the growth to two graphene layers and that the wrinkles, which arise through extended carbon deposition, play a crucial role in the multilayer growth. We also find that the bilayer and trilayer graphene sheets have graphitic-like properties in terms of the separation between the two layers and their stacking. The presence of the iridium substrate imposes a periodic potential induced by the moiré pattern that was found to lead to the formation of replica bands and minigaps in bilayer graphene. From tight-binding fits to our ARPES data we find that band renormalization takes place in multilayer graphene due to a weaker coupling of the upper-most graphene layer to the iridium substrate.

Tailoring Intercalant Assemblies at the Graphene-Metal Interface

The influence of graphene on the assembly of intercalated material is studied using low-temperature scanning tunneling microscopy. Intercalation of Pt under monolayer graphene on Pt(111) induces a substrate reconstruction that is qualitatively different from the lattice rearrangement induced by metal deposition on Pt(111) and, specifically, the homoepitaxy of Pt. Alkali metals Cs and Li are used as intercalants for monolayer and bilayer graphene on Ru(0001). Atomically resolved topographic data reveal that at elevated alkali metal coverage (2 × 2)Cs and (1 × 1)Li intercalant structures form with respect to the graphene lattice.

Layer-by-Layer Decoupling of Twisted Graphene Sheets Epitaxially Grown on a Metal Substrate

The electronic properties of graphene can be efficiently altered upon interaction with the underlying substrate resulting in a dramatic change of charge carrier behavior. Here, the evolution of the local electronic properties of epitaxial graphene on a metal upon the controlled formation of multilayers, which are produced by intercalation of atomic carbon in graphene/Ir(111), is investigated. Using scanning tunneling microscopy and Landau-level spectroscopy, it is shown that for a monolayer and bilayers with small-angle rotations, Landau levels are fully suppressed, indicating that the metal-graphene interaction is largely confined to the first graphene layer. Bilayers with large twist angles as well as twisted trilayers demonstrate a sequence of pronounced Landau levels characteristic for a free-standing graphene monolayer pointing toward an effective decoupling of the top layer from the metal substrate. These findings give evidence for the controlled preparation of epitaxial graphene multilayers with a different degree of decoupling, which represent an ideal platform for future electronic and spintronic applications.

Nitrogen Doping Enables Covalent-Like π-π Bonding between Graphenes

The neighboring layers in bilayer (and few-layer) graphenes of both AA and AB stacking motifs are known to be separated at a distance corresponding to van der Waals (vdW) interactions. In this Letter, we present for the first time a new aspect of graphene chemistry in terms of a special chemical bonding between the giant graphene "molecules". Through rigorous theoretical calculations, we demonstrate that the N-doped graphenes (NGPs) with various doping levels can form an unusual two-dimensional (2D) π-π bonding in bilayer NGPs bringing the neighboring NGPs to significantly reduced interlayer separations. The interlayer binding energies can be enhanced by up to 50% compared to the pristine graphene bilayers that are characterized by only vdW interactions. Such an unusual chemical bonding arises from the π-π overlap across the vdW gap while the individual layers maintain their in-plane π-conjugation and are accordingly planar. The existence of the resulting interlayer covalent-like bonding is corroborated by electronic structure calculations and crystal orbital overlap population (COOP) analyses. In NGP-based graphite with the optimal doping level, the NGP layers are uniformly stacked and the 3D bulk exhibits metallic characteristics both in the in-plane and along the stacking directions.

Magnetic moment and anisotropy of individual Co atoms on graphene

We report on the magnetic properties of single Co atoms on graphene on Pt(111). By means of scanning tunneling microscopy spin-excitation spectroscopy, we infer a magnetic anisotropy of K=-8.1  meV with out-of-plane hard axis and a magnetic moment of 2.2μ(B). Co adsorbs on the sixfold graphene hollow site. Upon hydrogen adsorption, three differently hydrogenated species are identified. Their magnetic properties are very different from those of clean Co. Ab initio calculations support our results and reveal that the large magnetic anisotropy stems from strong ligand field effects due to the interaction between Co and graphene orbitals.

Superlubric sliding of graphene nanoflakes on graphene

The lubricating properties of graphite and graphene have been intensely studied by sliding a frictional force microscope tip against them to understand the origin of the observed low friction. In contrast, the relative motion of free graphene layers remains poorly understood. Here we report a study of the sliding behavior of graphene nanoflakes (GNFs) on a graphene surface. Using scanning tunneling microscopy, we found that the GNFs show facile translational and rotational motions between commensurate initial and final states at temperatures as low as 5 K. The motion is initiated by a tip-induced transition of the flakes from a commensurate to an incommensurate registry with the underlying graphene layer (the superlubric state), followed by rapid sliding until another commensurate position is reached. Counterintuitively, the average sliding distance of the flakes is larger at 5 K than at 77 K, indicating that thermal fluctuations are likely to trigger their transitions from superlubric back to commensurate ground states.