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Scanning tunneling microscope observations of non-AB stacking of graphene on Ni films

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Abstract

Microscopic features of graphene segregated on Ni films prior to chemical transfer—including atomic structures of monolayers and bilayers, Moiré patterns due to non-AB stacking, as well as wrinkles and ripples caused by strain effects-have been characterized in detail by high-resolution scanning tunneling microscopy (STM). We found that the stacking geometry of the bilayer graphene usually deviates from the traditional Bernal stacking (or so-called AB stacking), resulting in the formation of a variety of Moiré patterns. The relative rotations inside the bilayer were then qualitatively deduced from the relationship between Moiré patterns and carbon lattices. Moreover, we found that typical defects such as wrinkles and ripples tend to evolve around multi-step boundaries of Ni, thus reflecting strong perturbations from substrate corrugations. These investigations of the morphology and the mechanism of formation of wrinkles and ripples are fundamental topics in graphene research. This work is expected to contribute to the exploration of electronic and transport properties of wrinkles and ripples.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Nanochemistry (CNC), Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, State Key Laboratory for Structural Chemistry of Unstable and Stable Species, College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China

    Ruiqi Zhao, Yanfeng Zhang, Teng Gao, Yabo Gao, Nan Liu, Lei Fu & Zhongfan Liu

  2. College of Physics and Chemistry, Henan Polytechnic University, Henan, 454003, China

    Ruiqi Zhao

  3. Department of Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology, College of Engineering, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China

    Yanfeng Zhang

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  1. Ruiqi Zhao
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  7. Zhongfan Liu
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Correspondence to Yanfeng Zhang or Zhongfan Liu.

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Zhao, R., Zhang, Y., Gao, T. et al. Scanning tunneling microscope observations of non-AB stacking of graphene on Ni films. Nano Res. 4, 712–721 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-011-0127-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-011-0127-8

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