Direct Determination of the Chemical Bonding of Individual Impurities in Graphene

作者：Zhou Wu^*; Kapetanakis Myron D; Prange Micah P; Pantelides Sokrates T; Pennycook Stephen J; Idrobo Juan Carlos

来源：Physical Review Letters, 2012, 109(20): 206803.

DOI：10.1103/PhysRevLett.109.206803

Using a combination of Z-contrast imaging and atomically resolved electron energy-loss spectroscopy on a scanning transmission electron microscope, we show that the chemical bonding of individual impurity atoms can be deduced experimentally. We find that when a Si atom is bonded with four atoms at a double-vacancy site in graphene, Si 3d orbitals contribute significantly to the bonding, resulting in a planar sp(2)d-like hybridization, whereas threefold coordinated Si in graphene adopts the preferred sp(3) hybridization. The conclusions are confirmed by first-principles calculations and demonstrate that chemical bonding of two-dimensional materials can now be explored at the single impurity level.

• 出版日期2012-11-15