Zhou W, Kapetanakis MD, Prange MP, Pantelides ST, Pennycook SJ, Idrobo JC. Direct determination of the chemical bonding of individual impurities in graphene.
Phys Rev Lett 2012;
109:206803. [PMID:
23215517 DOI:
10.1103/physrevlett.109.206803]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 61] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/19/2012] [Indexed: 05/08/2023]
Abstract
Using a combination of Z-contrast imaging and atomically resolved electron energy-loss spectroscopy on a scanning transmission electron microscope, we show that the chemical bonding of individual impurity atoms can be deduced experimentally. We find that when a Si atom is bonded with four atoms at a double-vacancy site in graphene, Si 3d orbitals contribute significantly to the bonding, resulting in a planar sp(2) d-like hybridization, whereas threefold coordinated Si in graphene adopts the preferred sp(3) hybridization. The conclusions are confirmed by first-principles calculations and demonstrate that chemical bonding of two-dimensional materials can now be explored at the single impurity level.
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