Graphene is the thinnest known material, a sheet of carbon atoms arranged in hexagonal cells a single atom thick, and yet stronger than diamond. It has potentially significant applications in ...nanotechnology, 'beyond-silicon' electronics, solid-state realization of high-energy phenomena and as a prototype membrane which could revolutionise soft matter and 2D physics. In this book, leading graphene research theorist Mikhail Katsnelson presents the basic concepts of graphene physics. Topics covered include Berry phase, topologically protected zero modes, Klein tunneling, vacuum reconstruction near supercritical charges, and deformation-induced gauge fields. The book also introduces the theory of flexible membranes relevant to graphene physics and discusses electronic transport, optical properties, magnetism and spintronics. Standard undergraduate-level knowledge of quantum and statistical physics and solid state theory is assumed. This is an important textbook for graduate students in nanoscience and nanotechnology and an excellent introduction for physicists and materials science researchers working in related areas.
The discovery of ferromagnetic order in monolayer two-dimensional (2D) crystals has opened a new venue in the field of 2D materials. Two-dimensional magnets are not only interesting on their own, but ...their integration in van der Waals heterostructures allows for the observation of new and exotic effects in the ultrathin limit. The family of chromium trihalides, CrI3, CrBr3, and CrCl3, is so far the most studied among magnetic 2D crystals. In this Mini Review, we provide a perspective of the state of the art of the theoretical understanding of magnetic 2D trihalides, most of which will also be relevant for other 2D magnets, such as vanadium trihalides. We discuss both the well-established facts, such as the origin of the magnetic moment and magnetic anisotropy, and address as well open issues such as the nature of the anisotropic spin couplings and the magnitude of the magnon gap. Recent theoretical predictions on Moiré magnets and magnetic skyrmions are also discussed. Finally, we give some prospects about the future interest of these materials and possible device applications.
Strong electronic correlations pose one of the biggest challenges to solid state theory. Recently developed methods that address this problem by starting with the local, eminently important ...correlations of dynamical mean field theory (DMFT) are reviewed. In addition, nonlocal correlations on all length scales are generated through Feynman diagrams, with a local two-particle vertex instead of the bare Coulomb interaction as a building block. With these diagrammatic extensions of DMFT long-range charge, magnetic, and superconducting fluctuations as well as (quantum) criticality can be addressed in strongly correlated electron systems. An overview is provided of the successes and results achieved, mainly for model Hamiltonians, and an outline is given of future prospects for realistic material calculations.
By performing ab initio calculations for one- to four-layer black phosphorus within the GW approximation, we obtain a significant difference in the band gap (~1.5 eV), which is in line with recent ...experimental data. The results are analyzed in terms of the constructed four-band tight-binding model, which gives accurate descriptions of the mono- and bilayer band structure near the band gap, and reveal an important role of the interlayer hoppings, which are largely responsible for the obtained gap difference.
Among many remarkable qualities of graphene, its electronic properties attract particular interest owing to the chiral character of the charge carriers, which leads to such unusual phenomena as ...metallic conductivity in the limit of no carriers and the half-integer quantum Hall effect observable even at room temperature. Because graphene is only one atom thick, it is also amenable to external influences, including mechanical deformation. The latter offers a tempting prospect of controlling graphene's properties by strain and, recently, several reports have examined graphene under uniaxial deformation. Although the strain can induce additional Raman features, no significant changes in graphene's band structure have been either observed or expected for realistic strains of up to ∼15% (refs 9, 10, 11). Here we show that a designed strain aligned along three main crystallographic directions induces strong gauge fields that effectively act as a uniform magnetic field exceeding 10 T. For a finite doping, the quantizing field results in an insulating bulk and a pair of countercirculating edge states, similar to the case of a topological insulator. We suggest realistic ways of creating this quantum state and observing the pseudomagnetic quantum Hall effect. We also show that strained superlattices can be used to open significant energy gaps in graphene's electronic spectrum.
Modeling of Graphite Oxide Boukhvalov, D. W; Katsnelson, M. I
Journal of the American Chemical Society,
08/2008, Letnik:
130, Številka:
32
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
Based on density functional calculations, optimized structures of graphite oxide are found for various coverages by oxygen and hydroxyl groups, as well as their ratio corresponding to the minimum of ...total energy. The model proposed describes well-known experimental results. In particular, it explains why it is so difficult to reduce the graphite oxide up to pure graphene. Evolution of the electronic structure of graphite oxide with the coverage change is investigated.
By atomistic modeling of moiré patterns of graphene on a substrate with a small lattice mismatch, we find qualitatively different strain distributions for small and large misorientation angles, ...corresponding to the commensurate-incommensurate transition recently observed in graphene on hexagonal BN. We find that the ratio of C-N and C-B interactions is the main parameter determining the different bond lengths in the center and edges of the moiré pattern. Agreement with experimental data is obtained only by assuming that the C-B interactions are at least twice weaker than the C-N interactions. The correspondence between the strain distribution in the nanoscale moiré pattern and the potential energy surface at the atomic scale found in our calculations makes the moiré pattern a tool to study details of dispersive forces in van der Waals heterostructures.
We present a theory for single- and two-phonon charge carrier scattering in anisotropic two-dimensional semiconductors applied to single-layer black phosphorus (BP). We show that in contrast to ...graphene, where two-phonon processes due to the scattering by flexural phonons dominate at any practically relevant temperatures and are independent of the carrier concentration n, two-phonon scattering in BP is less important and can be considered negligible at n≳10^{13} cm^{-2}. At smaller n, however, phonons enter in the essentially anharmonic regime. Compared to the hole mobility, which does not exhibit strong anisotropy between the principal directions of BP (μ_{xx}/μ_{yy}∼1.4 at n=10^{13} cm^{-2} and T=300 K), the electron mobility is found to be significantly more anisotropic (μ_{xx}/μ_{yy}∼6.2). Absolute values of μ_{xx} do not exceed 250 (700) cm^{2} V^{-1} s^{-1} for holes (electrons), which can be considered as an upper limit for the mobility in BP at room temperature.
The recent discovery of graphene has sparked much interest, thus far focused on the peculiar electronic structure of this material, in which charge carriers mimic massless relativistic particles. ...However, the physical structure of graphene-a single layer of carbon atoms densely packed in a honeycomb crystal lattice-is also puzzling. On the one hand, graphene appears to be a strictly two-dimensional material, exhibiting such a high crystal quality that electrons can travel submicrometre distances without scattering. On the other hand, perfect two-dimensional crystals cannot exist in the free state, according to both theory and experiment. This incompatibility can be avoided by arguing that all the graphene structures studied so far were an integral part of larger three-dimensional structures, either supported by a bulk substrate or embedded in a three-dimensional matrix. Here we report on individual graphene sheets freely suspended on a microfabricated scaffold in vacuum or air. These membranes are only one atom thick, yet they still display long-range crystalline order. However, our studies by transmission electron microscopy also reveal that these suspended graphene sheets are not perfectly flat: they exhibit intrinsic microscopic roughening such that the surface normal varies by several degrees and out-of-plane deformations reach 1 nm. The atomically thin single-crystal membranes offer ample scope for fundamental research and new technologies, whereas the observed corrugations in the third dimension may provide subtle reasons for the stability of two-dimensional crystals.
Although graphite is known as one of the most chemically inert materials, we have found that graphene, a single atomic plane of graphite, can react with atomic hydrogen, which transforms this highly ...conductive zero-overlap semimetal into an insulator. Transmission electron microscopy reveals that the obtained graphene derivative (graphane) is crystalline and retains the hexagonal lattice, but its period becomes markedly shorter than that of graphene. The reaction with hydrogen is reversible, so that the original metallic state, the lattice spacing, and even the quantum Hall effect can be restored by annealing. Our work illustrates the concept of graphene as a robust atomic-scale scaffold on the basis of which new two-dimensional crystals with designed electronic and other properties can be created by attaching other atoms and molecules.