Giant edge state splitting at atomically precise graphene zigzag edges.

Nat Commun

Nanotech@surfaces Laboratory, Empa, Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology, 8600 Dübendorf, Switzerland.

Published: May 2016

AI Article Synopsis

  • Zigzag edges of graphene nanostructures have localized electronic states that are likely to be spin-polarized but are affected by rough edges and their substrate.
  • Researchers studied atomically precise graphene nanoribbons with two zigzag edges that accommodate one electron each.
  • The transfer to insulating NaCl islands using a scanning tunneling microscope helped decouple the electronic structure from the metal substrate, showing a significant energy splitting of 1.9 eV, confirming the influence of electron-electron interactions.

Article Abstract

Zigzag edges of graphene nanostructures host localized electronic states that are predicted to be spin-polarized. However, these edge states are highly susceptible to edge roughness and interaction with a supporting substrate, complicating the study of their intrinsic electronic and magnetic structure. Here, we focus on atomically precise graphene nanoribbons whose two short zigzag edges host exactly one localized electron each. Using the tip of a scanning tunnelling microscope, the graphene nanoribbons are transferred from the metallic growth substrate onto insulating islands of NaCl in order to decouple their electronic structure from the metal. The absence of charge transfer and hybridization with the substrate is confirmed by scanning tunnelling spectroscopy, which reveals a pair of occupied/unoccupied edge states. Their large energy splitting of 1.9 eV is in accordance with ab initio many-body perturbation theory calculations and reflects the dominant role of electron-electron interactions in these localized states.

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Source
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4873614PMC
http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/ncomms11507DOI Listing

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