Adatoms and Clusters of 3d Transition Metals on Graphene: Electronic and Magnetic Configurations

T. Eelbo, M. Waśniowska, P. Thakur, M. Gyamfi, B. Sachs, T. O. Wehling, S. Forti, U. Starke, C. Tieg, A. I. Lichtenstein, and R. Wiesendanger
Phys. Rev. Lett. 110, 136804 – Published 26 March 2013
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Abstract

We investigate the electronic and magnetic properties of single Fe, Co, and Ni atoms and clusters on monolayer graphene (MLG) on SiC(0001) by means of scanning tunneling microscopy (STM), x-ray absorption spectroscopy, x-ray magnetic circular dichroism (XMCD), and ab initio calculations. STM reveals different adsorption sites for Ni and Co adatoms. XMCD proves Fe and Co adatoms to be paramagnetic and to exhibit an out-of-plane easy axis in agreement with theory. In contrast, we experimentally find a nonmagnetic ground state for Ni monomers while an increasing cluster size leads to sizeable magnetic moments. These observations are well reproduced by our calculations and reveal the importance of hybridization effects and intra-atomic charge transfer for the properties of adatoms and clusters on MLG.

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  • Received 14 November 2012

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.110.136804

© 2013 American Physical Society

Authors & Affiliations

T. Eelbo1,*, M. Waśniowska1,†, P. Thakur2,‡, M. Gyamfi1, B. Sachs3, T. O. Wehling4,5, S. Forti6, U. Starke6, C. Tieg7, A. I. Lichtenstein3, and R. Wiesendanger1

  • 1Institute of Applied Physics, University of Hamburg, Jungiusstrasse 11, D-20355 Hamburg, Germany
  • 2European Synchrotron Radiation Facility, BP 220, F-38043 Grenoble, France
  • 31st Institute of Theoretical Physics, University of Hamburg, Jungiusstrasse 9, D-20355 Hamburg, Germany
  • 4Institut für Theoretische Physik, Universität Bremen, Otto-Hahn-Allee 1, D-28359 Bremen, Germany
  • 5Bremen Center for Computational Materials Science, Am Fallturm 1a, D-28359 Bremen, Germany
  • 6Max Planck Institute for Solid State Research, Heisenbergstrasse 1, D-70569 Stuttgart, Germany
  • 7Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin, Albert-Einstein-Strasse 15, D-12489 Berlin, Germany

  • *teelbo@physnet.uni-hamburg.de
  • mwasniow@physnet.uni-hamburg.de
  • Present address: Diamond Light Source, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Didcot OX11 0QX, United Kingdom.

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Vol. 110, Iss. 13 — 29 March 2013

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