The Effect of Adsorbed Molecules on Electronic Structure and Magnetic Properties of Nanographites

Abstract

The results of investigation of changes in electronic structure and magnetic properties of multilayer graphene nanoclusters (nanographites) occurring during their interaction with adsorbed chlorine molecules are presented. The found reversible decrease in the density of states of current carriers D(EF) at the Fermi energy EF can be explained by the spin-splitting of edge π-electron states in nanographites induced by the enhancement of electron-electron interactions due to increase of the D(EF) at partial transfer of the electron density from nanographites to chlorine adatoms. The revealed irreversible decrease in the concentration of localized spins indicates that the electron spins of 3p-orbitals of chlorine and unpaired (dundling) σ-orbitals of edge carbon atoms are coupled also at this interaction, i.e. the edge covalent compound of nanographite with chlorine forms. Character of changes in the spin-relaxation rate of π-electrons depending on the amount of adsorbed chlorine molecules and on temperature in chlorinated samples are also consistent with the above model of nanographite-chlorine interaction.