Strongly Interacting C₆₀/Ir(111) Interface: Transformation of C₆₀ into Graphene and Influence of Graphene Interlayer

Abstract

The adsorption, electronic structure, and thermodynamics of C60 molecules on Ir(111) and graphene/Ir(111) surfaces have been investigated by combining scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy as well as density functional theory calculations. C60 is found to interact strongly with the Ir surface, leading to a spontaneous formation of graphene on the Ir surface at elevated temperatures. The introduction of a graphene interlayer at the C60/Ir­(111) interface dramatically affects the interface properties, including the formation of larger molecular islands, improvement in ordering of molecular arrangements, suppression of charge transfer between C60 and Ir, and thermal desorption of C60 from the surface without decomposition or polymerization. We also find that C60 is an effective solid precursor for preparing small-sized graphene quantum dots as well as graphene layers on the Ir surface.

Controlled Synthesis of Nitrogen-Doped Graphene on Ruthenium from Azafullerene

“…After annealing this C 59 NH/Ru­(0001) sample up to 900 °C, C 59 NH molecules transformed into graphene patches, as shown in Figure b. This transformation suggests that the C 59 NH/Ru is a strongly interacting interface, similar to the C 60 /Ru, C 60 /Ni, C 60 /Pt, and C 60 /Ir interfaces. − The transformation of C 59 NH precursor molecules into graphene starts at around 500 °C and the high-quality graphene layer can be obtained at around 900 °C, as shown by a series of annealing experiments at different temperatures and subsequent STM measurements (see Supporting Information Figure S1). A full monolayer of graphene can be obtained after repeated cycles of C 59 NH deposition and subsequent annealing, as shown in Figure c.…”

High-quality PVD graphene growth by fullerene decomposition on Cu foils

“…Indeed, the transformation of C 60 into graphene was previously reported on Ni thin films, Pt(111), Ru(0001) and Ir(111) surfaces, in which the metal-catalyzed cage-opening of C 60 was achieved in the 700-1000°C temperature range [13–16]. All the above systems fall into the category of strongly interacting interfaces, in which C 60 adsorption is dominated by molecule-substrate interaction rather than intermolecular interactions.…”

Defect Generation and Surface Functionalization on Epitaxial Blue Phosphorene by C60 Adsorption

“…The local electronic structure of C 60 on Au(111) has been extensively explored via d I /d V over the past decades. − The typical highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO), lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO), and LUMO + 1 of C 60 on Au(111) are centered at −1.7 ± 0.2, 1.0 ± 0.2, and 2.2 ± 0.2 V, respectively. It is obvious that the HOMO of C 60 locates much lower than the VBM of BlueP.…”