2010/12/06 by C. Ataca, Ataca, C., S. Ciraci +1
Physics and Astronomy · #FOS: Physical sciences #Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci) #Other Condensed Matter (cond-mat.other) #cond-mat.mtrl-sci #cond-mat.other
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.1012.1185
10 figures, 11 pages, First submitted at October 4th, 2010 Accepted in Physical Review B 2011
arxiv created 2011/05/02 · arxiv updated 2011/05/03
Based on first-principles calculations we predict a peculiar growth process, where carbon adatoms adsorbed to graphene readily diffuse above room temperature and nucleate segments of linear carbon chains attached to graphene. These chains grow longer on graphene through insertion of carbon atoms one at a time from the bottom end and display a self-assembling behavior. Eventually, two allotropes of carbon, namely graphene and cumulene are combined to exhibit important functionalities. The segments of carbon chains on graphene become chemically active sites to bind foreign atoms or large molecules. When bound to the ends of carbon chains, transition metal atoms, Ti, Co and Au, attribute a magnetic ground state to graphene sheets and mediate stable contacts with interconnects. We showed that carbon chains can grow also on single wall carbon nanotubes.