Self-texturizing electronic properties of a 2-dimensional GdAu2 layer on Au(111): The role of out-of-plane atomic displacement

Here, we show that the electronic properties of a surface-supported 2-dimensional (2D) layer structure can self-texturize at nanoscale. The local electronic properties are determined by structural relaxation processes through variable adsorption stacking configurations. We demonstrate that the spati...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Correa, Alexander, Farnesi Camellone, Matteo, Barragán, Ana, Kumar, Abhishek, Cepek, Cinzia, Pedio, Maddalena, Fabris, Stefano, Vitali, Lucia
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2017
País:España
Institución:Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)
Repositorio:DIGITAL.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSIC
OAI Identifier:oai:digital.csic.es:10261/172207
Acceso en línea:http://hdl.handle.net/10261/172207
Access Level:acceso abierto
Descripción
Sumario:Here, we show that the electronic properties of a surface-supported 2-dimensional (2D) layer structure can self-texturize at nanoscale. The local electronic properties are determined by structural relaxation processes through variable adsorption stacking configurations. We demonstrate that the spatially modulated layer-buckling, which arises from the lattice mismatch and the layer/substrate coupling at the GdAu/Au(111) interface, is sufficient to locally open an energy gap of ∼0.5 eV at the Fermi level in an otherwise metallic layer. Additionally, this out-of-plane displacement of the Gd atoms patterns the character of the hybridized Gd-d states and shifts the center of mass of the Gd 4f multiplet proportionally to the lattice distortion. These findings demonstrate the close correlation between the electronic properties of the 2D-layer and its planarity. We demonstrate that the resulting template shows different chemical reactivities which may find important applications.