Magnetism of Covalently Functionalized Carbon Nanotubes

We investigate the electronic structure of carbon nanotubes functionalized by adsorbates anchored with single C-C covalent bonds. We find that, despite the particular adsorbate, a spin moment with a universal value of 1.0 $\mu_B$ per molecule is induced at low coverage. Therefore, we propose a mechanism of bonding-induced magnetism at the carbon surface. The adsorption of a single molecule creates a dispersionless defect state at the Fermi energy, which is mainly localized in the carbon wall and presents a small contribution from the adsorbate. This universal spin moment is fairly independent of the coverage as long as all the molecules occupy the same graphenic sublattice. The magnetic coupling between adsorbates is also studied and reveals a key dependence on the graphenic sublattice adsorption site.Comment: final version, improved discussion about calculations and defect concentratio

Transport properties of armchair graphene nanoribbon junctions between graphene electrodes

The transmission properties of armchair graphene nanoribbon junctions between graphene electrodes are investigated by means of first-principles quantum transport calculations. First the dependence of the transmission function on the size of the nanoribbon has been studied. Two regimes are highlighted: for small applied bias transport takes place via tunneling and the length of the ribbon is the key parameter that determines the junction conductance; at higher applied bias resonant transport through HOMO and LUMO starts to play a more determinant role, and the transport properties depend on the details of the geometry (width and length) of the carbon nanoribbon. In the case of the thinnest ribbon it has been verified that a tilted geometry of the central phenyl ring is the most stable configuration. As a consequence of this rotation the conductance decreases due to the misalignment of the $pi$ orbitals between the phenyl ring and the remaining part of the junction. All the computed transmission functions have shown a negligible dependence on different saturations and reconstructions of the edges of the graphene leads, suggesting a general validity of the reported results

First-Principles Study of Substitutional Metal Impurities in Graphene: Structural, Electronic and Magnetic Properties

We present a theoretical study using density functional calculations of the structural, electronic and magnetic properties of 3d transition metal, noble metal and Zn atoms interacting with carbon monovacancies in graphene. We pay special attention to the electronic and magnetic properties of these substitutional impurities and found that they can be fully understood using a simple model based on the hybridization between the states of the metal atom, particularly the d shell, and the defect levels associated with an unreconstructed D3h carbon vacancy. We identify three different regimes associated with the occupation of different carbon-metal hybridized electronic levels: (i) bonding states are completely filled for Sc and Ti, and these impurities are non-magnetic; (ii) the non-bonding d shell is partially occupied for V, Cr and Mn and, correspondingly, these impurties present large and localized spin moments; (iii) antibonding states with increasing carbon character are progressively filled for Co, Ni, the noble metals and Zn. The spin moments of these impurities oscillate between 0 and 1 Bohr magnetons and are increasingly delocalized. The substitutional Zn suffers a Jahn-Teller-like distortion from the C3v symmetry and, as a consequence, has a zero spin moment. Fe occupies a distinct position at the border between regimes (ii) and (iii) and shows a more complex behavior: while is non-magnetic at the level of GGA calculations, its spin moment can be switched on using GGA+U calculations with moderate values of the U parameter.Comment: 13 figures, 4 tables. Submitted to Phys. Rev. B on September 26th, 200

First-principles study of the atomic and electronic structure of the Si(111)-(5x2-Au surface reconstruction

We present a systematic study of the atomic and electronic structure of the Si(111)-(5x2)-Au reconstruction using first-principles electronic structure calculations based on the density functional theory. We analyze the structural models proposed by Marks and Plass [Phys. Rev. Lett.75, 2172 (1995)], those proposed recently by Erwin [Phys. Rev. Lett.91, 206101 (2003)], and a completely new structure that was found during our structural optimizations. We study in detail the energetics and the structural and electronic properties of the different models. For the two most stable models, we also calculate the change in the surface energy as a function of the content of silicon adatoms for a realistic range of concentrations. Our new model is the energetically most favorable in the range of low adatom concentrations, while Erwin's "5x2" model becomes favorable for larger adatom concentrations. The crossing between the surface energies of both structures is found close to 1/2 adatoms per 5x2 unit cell, i.e. near the maximum adatom coverage observed in the experiments. Both models, the new structure and Erwin's "5x2" model, seem to provide a good description of many of the available experimental data, particularly of the angle-resolved photoemission measurements

Magnetism of Substitutional Co Impurities in Graphene: Realization of Single π\pi-Vacancies

We report {\it ab initio} calculations of the structural, electronic and magnetic properties of a graphene monolayer substitutionally doped with Co (Co$_{sub}$) atoms. We focus in Co because among traditional ferromagnetic elements (Fe, Co and Ni), only Co$_{sub}$ atoms induce spin-polarization in graphene. Our results show the complex magnetism of Co substitutional impurites in graphene, which is mapped into simple models such as the $\pi$-vacancy and Heisenberg model. The links established in our work can be used to bring into contact the engineering of nanostructures with the results of $\pi$-models in defective graphene. In principle, the structures considered here can be fabricated using electron irradiation or Ar$^+$ ion bombardment to create defects and depositing Co at the same time

Hybrid cluster-expansion and density-functional-theory approach for optical absorption in TiO2

A combined approach of first-principles density-functional calculations and the systematic cluster-expansion scheme is presented. The dipole, quadrupole, and Coulomb matrix elements obtained from ab initio calculations are used as an input to the microscopic many-body theory of the excitonic optical response. To demonstrate the hybrid approach for a nontrivial semiconductor system, the near-bandgap excitonic optical absorption of rutile TiO2 is computed. Comparison with experiments yields strong evidence that the observed near-bandgap features are due to a dipole-forbidden but quadrupole-allowed 1s-exciton state.Comment: 14 pages, 4 figure

Electron transport through antidot superlattices in Si/SiGeSi/SiGe heterostructures: new magnetoresistance resonances in lattices with large diameter antidots

In the present work we have investigated the transport properties in a number of Si/SiGe samples with square antidot lattices of different periods. In samples with lattice periods equal to 700 nm and 850 nm we have observed the conventional low-field commensurability magnetoresistance peaks consistent with the previous observations in GaAs/AlGaAs and Si/SiGe samples with antidot lattices. In samples with a 600 nm lattice period a new series of well-developed magnetoresistance oscillations has been found beyond the last commensurability peak which are supposed to originate from periodic skipping orbits encircling an antidot with a particular number of bounds.Comment: To appear in EuroPhys. Let

Effect of electron and hole doping on the structure of C, Si, and S nanowires

We use ab initio density functional calculations to study the effect of electron and hole doping on the equilibrium geometry and electronic structure of C, Si, and S monatomic wires. Independent of doping, all these nanowires are found to be metallic. In absence of doping, C wires are straight, whereas Si and S wires display a zigzag structure. Besides two preferred bond angles of 60 deg and 120 deg in Si wires, we find an additional metastable bond angle of 90 deg in S wires. The equilibrium geometry and electronic structure of these nanowires is shown to change drastically upon electron and hole doping.Comment: 5 pages including 5 figure