Strains Induced by Point Defects in Graphene on a Metal

Nils Blanc (1) , Fabien Jean (2) , Arkady V. Krasheninnikov (3) , Gilles Renaud (4) , Johann Coraux (2)

1 NEEL - CRG - CRG & Grands instruments
2 NEEL - Quan2m - Interactions modulables dans des états quantiques 2D
3 Aalto University
4 INAC - Institut Nanosciences et Cryogénie

Strains strongly affect the properties of low-dimensional materials, such as graphene. By combining in situ, in operando, reflection high energy electron diffraction experiments with first-principles calculations, we show that large strains, above 2%, are present in graphene during its growth by chemical vapor deposition on Ir(111) and when it is subjected to oxygen etching and ion bombardment. Our results unravel the microscopic relationship between point defects and strains in epitaxial graphene and suggest new avenues for graphene nanostructuring and engineering its properties through introduction of defects and intercalation of atoms and molecules between graphene and its metal substrate.

Mots clés: interstitial; vacancy; strain; RHEED; iridium; graphene; defects; DFT

Domaines: Science des matériaux [cond-mat.mtrl-sci]

Nils Blanc, Fabien Jean, Arkady V. Krasheninnikov, Gilles Renaud, Johann Coraux. Strains Induced by Point Defects in Graphene on a Metal. Physical Review Letters, 2013, 111, pp.085501. ⟨10.1103/PhysRevLett.111.085501⟩. ⟨hal-00856717⟩