Session W36: Focus Session: Graphene Structure, Dopants, and Defects: Graphene Oxide and Fluoride

11:15 AM–2:15 PM, Thursday, March 24, 2011
Room: C142

Sponsoring Unit: DMP
Chair: Masahiro Ishigami, University of Central Florida

Abstract ID: BAPS.2011.MAR.W36.11

Abstract: W36.00011 : Influence of Gate Voltage on the diffusion of Oxygen on Graphene

1:39 PM–1:51 PM

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Authors:

  Alejandro Suarez
    (Department of Physics, The Pennsylvania State University)

  Ljubisa Radovic
    (Department of Energy and Mineral Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University)

  Ezra Bar-Ziv
    (Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel)

  Jorge Sofo
    (Department of Physics, The Pennsylvania State University)

We calculate the surface diffusion of Oxygen on Graphene using Density Functional Theory. We find the activation energy for diffusion to be 0.71 eV. Charging the graphene plane causes the diffusion barrier to change substantially. Electron doping graphene lowers the diffusion barrier, resulting in activation energies as low as 0.15 eV for a carrier concentration of 7.6x10$^{13}$ cm$^{-2}$. This barrier reduction yields diffusion coefficients reaching over nine orders of magnitude lower than that of diffusion on neutral graphene. After study of the change in charge density distribution and local density of states, this effect is explained by a mixture of bond weakening under the equilibrium state and bond strengthening during the transition state. With this large fluctuation in diffusivity, patterning of oxidized regions in graphene may be achieved through variation of the gate voltage.

To cite this abstract, use the following reference: http://meetings.aps.org/link/BAPS.2011.MAR.W36.11