Spontaneous formation of metallic nanostructures on highly oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG): an ab initio and experimental study

We have investigated the decoration of step-edges of HOPG by Ag, Au and Pt using experimental and theoretical approaches. Metallic nanowires can be formed on bare or functionalized step-edges. Energy dispersion analysis indicates the presence of oxygenated groups. The experiments showed that nanowir...

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Bibliographic Details
Authors: Juarez, Maria Fernanda, Fuentes, Ana Silvina, Soldano, Germán, Avalle, Lucia Bernardita, Santos, Elizabeth del Carmen
Format: article
Status:Published version
Publication Date:2014
Country:Argentina
Institution:Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas
Repository:CONICET Digital (CONICET)
Language:English
OAI Identifier:oai:ri.conicet.gov.ar:11336/31557
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/11336/31557
Access Level:Open access
Keyword:Hopg
Spontaneous Deposition
Pt
Ag
https://purl.org/becyt/ford/1.4
https://purl.org/becyt/ford/1
Description
Summary:We have investigated the decoration of step-edges of HOPG by Ag, Au and Pt using experimental and theoretical approaches. Metallic nanowires can be formed on bare or functionalized step-edges. Energy dispersion analysis indicates the presence of oxygenated groups. The experiments showed that nanowires can be obtained with the three metals along the step-edges, but the shapes and morphologies are very different. We have found that the interaction between the metal wires and the carbon follows the sequence: Pt > Au > Ag. The electronic redistribution between the atoms participating in the bond between the metallic nanowire and the step-edges shows a complicated pattern. The density of electronic states projected on the different atoms indicates that there are different orbitals participating in the bonds.