Controlled formation of sharp zigzag and armchair edges in graphitic nanoribbons

Xiaoting Jia, Mario Hofmann, Vincent Meunier, Bobby G. Sumpter, Jessica Campos-Delgado, José Manuel Romo-Herrera, Hyungbin Son, Ya Ping Hsieh, Alfonso Reina, Jing Kong, Mauricio Terrones, Mildred S. Dresselhaus

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

632 Scopus citations

Abstract

Graphene nanoribbons can exhibit either quasi-metallic or semiconducting behavior, depending on the atomic structure of their edges. Thus, it is important to control the morphology and crystallinity of these edges for practical purposes. We demonstrated an efficient edge-reconstruction process, at the atomic scale, for graphitic nanoribbons by Joule heating. During Joule heating and electron beam irradiation, carbon atoms are vaporized, and subsequently sharp edges and step-edge arrays are stabilized, mostly with either zigzag- or armchair-edge configurations. Model calculations show that the dominant annealing mechanisms involve point defect annealing and edge reconstruction.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1701-1705
Number of pages5
JournalScience
Volume323
Issue number5922
DOIs
StatePublished - Mar 27 2009

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