10,668 research outputs found
Modification of electronic surface states by graphene islands on Cu(111)
We present a study of graphene/substrate interactions on UHV-grown graphene
islands with minimal surface contamination using \emph{in situ} low-temperature
scanning tunneling microscopy (STM). We compare the physical and electronic
structure of the sample surface with atomic spatial resolution on graphene
islands versus regions of bare Cu(111) substrate. We find that the Rydberg-like
series of image potential states is shifted toward lower energy over the
graphene islands relative to Cu(111), indicating a decrease in the local work
function, and the resonances have a much smaller linewidth, indicating reduced
coupling to the bulk. In addition, we show the dispersion of the occupied
Cu(111) Shockley surface state is influenced by the graphene layer, and both
the band edge and effective mass are shifted relative to bare Cu(111).Comment: 12 pages, 3 figure
Adsorption of rare-gas atoms on Cu(111) and Pb(111) surfaces by van der Waals-corrected Density Functional Theory
The DFT/vdW-WF method, recently developed to include the Van der Waals
interactions in Density Functional Theory (DFT) using the Maximally Localized
Wannier functions, is applied to the study of the adsorption of rare-gas atoms
(Ne, Ar, Kr, and Xe) on the Cu(111) and Pb(111) surfaces, at three
high-symmetry sites. We evaluate the equilibrium binding energies and
distances, and the induced work-function changes and dipole moments. We find
that, for Ne, Ar, and Kr on the Cu(111) surface the different adsorption
configurations are characterized by very similar binding energies, while the
favored adsorption site for Xe on Cu(111) is on top of a Cu atom, in agreement
with previous theoretical calculations and experimental findings, and in common
with other close-packed metal surfaces. Instead, the favored site is always the
hollow one on the Pb(111) surface, which therefore represents an interesting
system where the investigation of high-coordination sites is possible.
Moreover, the Pb(111) substrate is subject, upon rare-gas adsorption, to a
significantly smaller change in the work function (and to a correspondingly
smaller induced dipole moment) than Cu(111). The role of the chosen reference
DFT functional and of different Van der Waals corrections, and their dependence
on different rare-gas adatoms, are also discussed
Origin of the Mosaicity in Graphene Grown on Cu(111)
We use low-energy electron microscopy to investigate how graphene grows on
Cu(111). Graphene islands first nucleate at substrate defects such as step
bunches and impurities. A considerable fraction of these islands can be
rotationally misaligned with the substrate, generating grain boundaries upon
interisland impingement. New rotational boundaries are also generated as
graphene grows across substrate step bunches. Thus, rougher substrates lead to
higher degrees of mosaicity than do flatter substrates. Increasing the growth
temperature improves crystallographic alignment. We demonstrate that graphene
growth on Cu(111) is surface diffusion limited by comparing simulations of the
time evolution of island shapes with experiments. Islands are dendritic with
distinct lobes, but unlike the polycrystalline, four-lobed islands observed on
(100)-textured Cu foils, each island can be a single crystal. Thus, epitaxial
graphene on smooth, clean Cu(111) has fewer structural defects than it does on
Cu(100).Comment: Article revised following reviewer comment
The structural analysis of Cu(111)-Te (√3 × √3) R30° and (2√3 × 2√3)R30° surface phases by quantitative LEED and DFT,
The chemisorption of tellurium on atomically clean Cu(111) surface has been studied under ultra-high vacuum conditions. At room temperature, the initial stage of growth was an ordered 23×23R30° phase (0.08 ML). An ordered 3×3R30° phase is formed at 0.33 ML coverage of Te. The adsorption sites of the Te atoms on the Cu(111) surface at 0.08 ML and 0.33 ML coverages are explored by quantitative low energy electron diffraction (LEED) and density functional theory (DFT). Our results indicate that substitutional surface alloy formation starts at very low coverages
Driving forces for Ag-induced periodic faceting of vicinal Cu(111)
Adsorption of submonolayer amounts of Ag on vicinal Cu(111) induces periodic
faceting. The equilibrium structure is characterized by Ag-covered facets that
alternate with clean Cu stripes. In the atomic scale, the driving force is the
matching of Ag(111)-like packed rows with Cu(111) terraces underneath. This
determines the preference for the facet orientation and the evolution of
different phases as a function of coverage. Both Cu and Ag stripe widths can be
varied smoothly in the 3-30 nm range by tuning Ag coverage, allowing to test
theoretical predictions of elastic theories.Comment: 1 text, 4 figure
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