Atomic structure and energetics of large vacancies in graphene

Author(s)
J. Kotakoski, F. R. Eder, J. C. Meyer
Abstract

We present a computational study on the topology, energetics, and structural deformations for a large number of experimentally observed defect configurations in graphene. We find that both the number of lost hexagonal carbon rings and introduced nonhexagonal rings increase linearly as a function of the vacancy order (number of missing atoms). The formation energies of the defects increase by about 2.2 eV per missing atom after an initial offset, establishing these defects as the lowest energy vacancy configurations studied in graphene to date. In addition, we find that even small point defects, which have been until now assumed flat, cause graphene to bend out of plane when not restricted into prohibitively confined geometries. This effect reaches to relative long distances even for some of the smallest defects, significantly reducing the stress otherwise imposed on the surrounding lattice.

Organisation(s)
Physics of Nanostructured Materials
External organisation(s)
University of Helsinki
Journal
Physical Review B
Volume
89
No. of pages
5
ISSN
1098-0121
Publication date
05-2014
Peer reviewed
Yes
Austrian Fields of Science 2012
103009 Solid state physics, 210006 Nanotechnology, 103008 Experimental physics
Keywords
Portal url
https://ucris.univie.ac.at/portal/en/publications/atomic-structure-and-energetics-of-large-vacancies-in-graphene(aad36961-4233-4cf0-b33a-ff6129e30a61).html