{
  "id": "0911.0060",
  "version": "v1",
  "published": "2009-10-31T07:34:54.000Z",
  "updated": "2009-10-31T07:34:54.000Z",
  "title": "Electronic structure and Peierls instability in graphene nanoribbons sculpted in graphane",
  "authors": [
    "Valentina Tozzini",
    "Vittorio Pellegrini"
  ],
  "categories": [
    "cond-mat.mes-hall"
  ],
  "abstract": "Graphene nanoribbons are semiconductor nanostructures with great potentials in nanoelectronics. Their realization particularly with small lateral dimensions below a few nanometers, however, remains challenging. Here we theoretically analyze zig-zag graphene nanoribbons created in a graphane substrate (a fully saturated two-dimensional hydrocarbon with formula CH) and predict that they are stable down to the limit of a single carbon chain. We exploit density functional theory with B3LYP functional that accurately treats exchange and correlation effects and demonstrate that at small widths below a few chains these zig-zag nanoribbons are semiconducting due to the Peierls instability similar to the case of polyacetylene. Graphene nanoribbons in graphane might represent a viable strategy for the realization of ultra-narrow semiconducting graphene nanoribbons with regular edges and controlled chemical termination and open the way for the exploration of the competition between Peierls distortion and spin effects in artificial one-dimensional carbon structures.",
  "revisions": [
    {
      "version": "v1",
      "updated": "2009-10-31T07:34:54.000Z"
    }
  ],
  "analyses": {
    "subjects": [
      "73.22.-f",
      "71.15.Mb",
      "78.67.Lt"
    ],
    "keywords": [
      "peierls instability",
      "electronic structure",
      "theoretically analyze zig-zag graphene nanoribbons",
      "artificial one-dimensional carbon structures"
    ],
    "tags": [
      "journal article"
    ],
    "publication": {
      "doi": "10.1103/PhysRevB.81.113404",
      "journal": "Physical Review B",
      "year": 2010,
      "month": "Mar",
      "volume": 81,
      "number": 11,
      "pages": 113404
    },
    "note": {
      "typesetting": "TeX",
      "pages": 0,
      "language": "en",
      "license": "arXiv",
      "status": "editable",
      "adsabs": "2010PhRvB..81k3404T"
    }
  }
}