Giant edge state splitting at atomically precise graphene zigzag edges

Shiyong Wang, Leopold Talirz, Carlo A. Pignedoli, Xinliang Feng, Klaus Müllen, Roman Fasel and Pascal Ruffieux ()
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Shiyong Wang: Nanotech@surfaces Laboratory, Empa, Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology
Leopold Talirz: Nanotech@surfaces Laboratory, Empa, Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology
Carlo A. Pignedoli: Nanotech@surfaces Laboratory, Empa, Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology
Xinliang Feng: Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research
Klaus Müllen: Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research
Roman Fasel: Nanotech@surfaces Laboratory, Empa, Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology
Pascal Ruffieux: Nanotech@surfaces Laboratory, Empa, Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology

Nature Communications, 2016, vol. 7, issue 1, 1-6

Abstract: Abstract Zigzag edges of graphene nanostructures host localized electronic states that are predicted to be spin-polarized. However, these edge states are highly susceptible to edge roughness and interaction with a supporting substrate, complicating the study of their intrinsic electronic and magnetic structure. Here, we focus on atomically precise graphene nanoribbons whose two short zigzag edges host exactly one localized electron each. Using the tip of a scanning tunnelling microscope, the graphene nanoribbons are transferred from the metallic growth substrate onto insulating islands of NaCl in order to decouple their electronic structure from the metal. The absence of charge transfer and hybridization with the substrate is confirmed by scanning tunnelling spectroscopy, which reveals a pair of occupied/unoccupied edge states. Their large energy splitting of 1.9 eV is in accordance with ab initio many-body perturbation theory calculations and reflects the dominant role of electron–electron interactions in these localized states.

Date: 2016
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DOI: 10.1038/ncomms11507

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