Twisted bilayer zigzag-graphene nanoribbon junctions with tunable edge states

Dongfei Wang, Bao De-Liang, Qi Zheng, Chang-Tian Wang, Shiyong Wang, Peng Fan, Shantanu Mishra, Lei Tao, Yao Xiao, Li Huang, Xinliang Feng, Klaus Müllen, Yu-Yang Zhang, Roman Fasel, Pascal Ruffieux (), Shixuan Du () and Hong-Jun Gao ()
Additional contact information
Dongfei Wang: Institute of Physics & University of Chinese Academy of Sciences
Bao De-Liang: Institute of Physics & University of Chinese Academy of Sciences
Qi Zheng: Institute of Physics & University of Chinese Academy of Sciences
Chang-Tian Wang: Institute of Physics & University of Chinese Academy of Sciences
Shiyong Wang: Empa, Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology
Peng Fan: Institute of Physics & University of Chinese Academy of Sciences
Shantanu Mishra: Empa, Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology
Lei Tao: Institute of Physics & University of Chinese Academy of Sciences
Yao Xiao: Institute of Physics & University of Chinese Academy of Sciences
Li Huang: Institute of Physics & University of Chinese Academy of Sciences
Xinliang Feng: Technische Universität Dresden
Klaus Müllen: Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research
Yu-Yang Zhang: Institute of Physics & University of Chinese Academy of Sciences
Roman Fasel: Empa, Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology
Pascal Ruffieux: Empa, Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology
Shixuan Du: Institute of Physics & University of Chinese Academy of Sciences
Hong-Jun Gao: Institute of Physics & University of Chinese Academy of Sciences

Nature Communications, 2023, vol. 14, issue 1, 1-9

Abstract: Abstract Stacking two-dimensional layered materials such as graphene and transitional metal dichalcogenides with nonzero interlayer twist angles has recently become attractive because of the emergence of novel physical properties. Stacking of one-dimensional nanomaterials offers the lateral stacking offset as an additional parameter for modulating the resulting material properties. Here, we report that the edge states of twisted bilayer zigzag graphene nanoribbons (TBZGNRs) can be tuned with both the twist angle and the stacking offset. Strong edge state variations in the stacking region are first revealed by density functional theory (DFT) calculations. We construct and characterize twisted bilayer zigzag graphene nanoribbon (TBZGNR) systems on a Au(111) surface using scanning tunneling microscopy. A detailed analysis of three prototypical orthogonal TBZGNR junctions exhibiting different stacking offsets by means of scanning tunneling spectroscopy reveals emergent near-zero-energy states. From a comparison with DFT calculations, we conclude that the emergent edge states originate from the formation of flat bands whose energy and spin degeneracy are highly tunable with the stacking offset. Our work highlights fundamental differences between 2D and 1D twistronics and spurs further investigation of twisted one-dimensional systems.

Date: 2023
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-36613-x

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