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van der Waals interactions mediating the cohesion of fullerenes on graphene

M. Švec, P. Merino, Y. J. Dappe, C. González, E. Abad, P. Jelínek, and J. A. Martín-Gago
Phys. Rev. B 86, 121407(R) – Published 24 September 2012
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Abstract

Fullerenes on single-layer epitaxial graphene are a model system to study very faint interactions at a molecular level. By a variable temperature scanning tunneling microscope we have been able to study ordered fullerene layers at 40 K, exclusively bound by van der Waals interactions. The experimentally determined adsorption geometry of the molecules is computationally confirmed only if van der Waals interactions are included in the calculation formalism. The relative orientation of fullerenes in their close-packed arrangement is found to be the crucial factor for determining the total energy. Observation of collective movements of fullerene islands points out the weak coupling to the substrate and the important role of the van der Waals cohesion forces within.

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  • Received 22 May 2012

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.86.121407

©2012 American Physical Society

Authors & Affiliations

M. Švec1,*, P. Merino2, Y. J. Dappe3,4, C. González1, E. Abad5,6, P. Jelínek1, and J. A. Martín-Gago2,7

  • 1Institute of Physics, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Cukrovarnicka 10, CZ-16200 Prague, Czech Republic
  • 2Centro de Astrobiología INTA-CSIC, Carretera de Ajalvir, km. 4, ES-28850 Madrid, Spain
  • 3CEA, IRAMIS, SPCSI, F-91191 Gif sur Yvette, FRANCE
  • 4Service de Physique de l'Etat Condensé, DSM/IRAMIS/SPEC, CEA Saclay URA CNRS 2464, F-91191 Gif-Sur-Yvette Cedex, France
  • 5Departamento de Física Teórica de la Materia Condensada, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, ES-28049 Madrid, Spain
  • 6Computational Biochemistry Group, Institute of Theoretical Chemistry, University of Stuttgart, Pfaffenwaldring 55, D-70569 Stuttgart, Germany
  • 7Instituto de Ciencia de Materiales de Madrid (CSIC), c/Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz, ES-28049 Madrid, Spain

  • *Corresponding author: svec@fzu.cz

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Issue

Vol. 86, Iss. 12 — 15 September 2012

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