Magnetism in Graphene Nanoislands

J. Fernández-Rossier and J. J. Palacios
Phys. Rev. Lett. 99, 177204 – Published 23 October 2007

Abstract

We study the magnetic properties of nanometer-sized graphene structures with triangular and hexagonal shapes terminated by zigzag edges. We discuss how the shape of the island, the imbalance in the number of atoms belonging to the two graphene sublattices, the existence of zero-energy states, and the total and local magnetic moment are intimately related. We consider electronic interactions both in a mean-field approximation of the one-orbital Hubbard model and with density functional calculations. Both descriptions yield values for the ground state total spin S consistent with Lieb’s theorem for bipartite lattices. Triangles have a finite S for all sizes whereas hexagons have S=0 and develop local moments above a critical size of 1.5nm.

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  • Received 19 July 2007

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.99.177204

©2007 American Physical Society

Authors & Affiliations

J. Fernández-Rossier1 and J. J. Palacios1,2

  • 1Departamento de Física Aplicada, Universidad de Alicante, San Vicente del Raspeig, Alicante E-03690, Spain
  • 2Instituto de Ciencia de Materiales de Madrid (CSIC), Cantoblanco, Madrid E-28049, Spain

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Issue

Vol. 99, Iss. 17 — 26 October 2007

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