Peeling graphite layer by layer reveals the charge exchange dynamics of ions inside a solid
- Author(s)
- Anna Niggas, Sascha Creutzburg, Janine Schwestka, Benjamin Wöckinger, Tushar Gupta, Pedro L. Grande, Dominik Eder, Jose P. Marques, Bernhard C. Bayer, Friedrich Aumayr, Robert Bennett, Richard A. Wilhelm
- Abstract
Over seventy years ago, Niels Bohr described how the charge state of an atomic ion moving through a solid changes dynamically as a result of electron capture and loss processes, eventually resulting in an equilibrium charge state. Although obvious, this process has so far eluded direct experimental observation. By peeling a solid, such as graphite, layer by layer, and studying the transmission of highly charged ions through single-, bi- and trilayer graphene, we can now observe dynamical changes in ion charge states with monolayer precision. In addition we present a first-principles approach based on the virtual photon model for interparticle energy transfer to corroborate our findings. Our model that uses a Gaussian shaped dynamic polarisability rather than a spatial delta function is a major step in providing a self-consistent description for interparticle de-excitation processes at the limit of small separations.Ion-solid interactions are governed by a range of complex processes the direct experimental observation of which pose their own set of challenges. Here, the authors present a joint experimental and first-principles approach to study and describe the underlying mechanism of electron capture for an ion travelling through layers of graphene with monolayer precision.
- Organisation(s)
- Physics of Nanostructured Materials
- External organisation(s)
- Technische Universität Wien, Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Universidade de Lisboa, University of Glasgow
- Journal
- Communications Physics
- Volume
- 4
- No. of pages
- 9
- ISSN
- 2399-3650
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s42005-021-00686-1
- Publication date
- 08-2021
- Peer reviewed
- Yes
- Austrian Fields of Science 2012
- 103018 Materials physics
- Keywords
- Portal url
- https://ucris.univie.ac.at/portal/en/publications/peeling-graphite-layer-by-layer-reveals-the-charge-exchange-dynamics-of-ions-inside-a-solid(9ea37942-f82d-43a7-85db-c971c41e8cb4).html