Templating ultra-small manganese isomers with preference for adsorption sites and narrow distribution tuned by different moiré periodicities of monolayer graphene on Ru(0001)

Nanotechnology. 2013 May 31;24(21):215302. doi: 10.1088/0957-4484/24/21/215302. Epub 2013 Apr 26.

Abstract

The process of templating a manganese nanocluster with the 12 × 12 moiré and other two slightly distorted graphene/Ru(0001) moirés was investigated by scanning tunneling microscopy (STM). At the initial stage of nucleation, different adsorption modes for Mn monomer, dimer and trimer guided by various moiré periodicities were observed. Upon Mn coverage increasing, STM measurements revealed that Mn clusters exhibit a detectable preference for adsorption sites on all the three different moirés. The most favorable adsorption sites for Mn clusters are the fcc regions, where ordering of Mn clusters was observable, and the lateral size of the clusters are tunable with coverage. A density functional theory calculation also showed that magnetism appears with a magnetic moment of 3.79μ(B) for Mn monomer on MLG/Ru(0001).

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adsorption
  • Computer Simulation
  • Crystallization / methods
  • Graphite / chemistry*
  • Isomerism
  • Macromolecular Substances / chemistry
  • Magnetic Fields
  • Manganese / chemistry*
  • Materials Testing
  • Models, Chemical*
  • Models, Molecular
  • Molecular Conformation
  • Molecular Imprinting / methods*
  • Nanostructures / chemistry*
  • Nanostructures / ultrastructure*
  • Particle Size
  • Ruthenium / chemistry*
  • Surface Properties

Substances

  • Macromolecular Substances
  • Manganese
  • Graphite
  • Ruthenium