Van der Waals interactions mediating the cohesion of fullerenes on graphene

Fullerenes on single-layer epitaxial graphene are a model system to study very faint interactions at a molecular level. By a variable temperature scanning tunneling microscope we have been able to study ordered fullerene layers at 40 K, exclusively bound by van der Waals interactions. The experiment...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Svec, M., Merino, P., Dappe, Yannick J., González, C., Abad González, Enrique, Jelínek, P., Martín-Gago, J. A.
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2012
País:España
Institución:Universidad Autónoma de Madrid
Repositorio:Biblos-e Archivo. Repositorio Institucional de la UAM
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:repositorio.uam.es:10486/672809
Acceso en línea:http://hdl.handle.net/10486/672809
https://dx.doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.86.121407
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Graphene
Fullerene layers
Van der Waals interactions
Total energy
Física
Descripción
Sumario:Fullerenes on single-layer epitaxial graphene are a model system to study very faint interactions at a molecular level. By a variable temperature scanning tunneling microscope we have been able to study ordered fullerene layers at 40 K, exclusively bound by van der Waals interactions. The experimentally determined adsorption geometry of the molecules is computationally confirmed only if van der Waals interactions are included in the calculation formalism. The relative orientation of fullerenes in their close-packed arrangement is found to be the crucial factor for determining the total energy. Observation of collective movements of fullerene islands points out the weak coupling to the substrate and the important role of the van der Waals cohesion forces within