Epitaxial deposition of silver ultrafine nano-clusters on defect-free surfaces of HOPG-derived few-layer graphene in a UHV multi-chamber by in-situ STM, ex-situ XPS and ab initio calculations

Ndlovu, GFRoos, WDWang, ZMAsante, JKOMashapa, MGJafta, CMwakikunga, Bonex WHillie, KT2012-05-042012-05-042012-03Ndlovu, GF, Roos, WD, Wanf, ZM, Asante, JKO, Mashapa, MG, Jafta, C, Mwakikunga, BW and Hillie, KT. 2012. Epitaxial deposition of silver ultrafine nano-clusters on defect-free surfaces of HOPG-derived few-layer graphene in a UHV multi-chamber by in-situ STM, ex-situ XPS and ab initio calculations. Nanoscale Research Letters, vol. 7:173, DOI: 10.1186/1556-276X-7-1731556-276X1931-7573http://rd.springer.com/article/10.1186/1556-276X-7-173http://hdl.handle.net/10204/5836Copyright: 2012 Ndlovu et al; licensee Springer. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.The growth of three-dimensional ultra-fine spherical nano-particles of silver on few layers of graphene derived from highly oriented pyrolytic graphite in ultra-high vacuum were characterized using in situ scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) in conjunction with X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The energetics of the Ag clusters was determined by DFT simulations. The Ag clusters appeared spherical with size distribution averaging approximately 2 nm in diameter. STM revealed the preferred site for the position of the Ag atom in the C-benzene ring of graphene. Of the three sites, the C-C bridge, the C-hexagon hollow, and the direct top of the C atom, Ag prefers to stay on top of the C atom, contrary to expectation of the hexagon-close packing. Ab initio calculations confirm the lowest potential energy between Ag and the graphene structure to be at the exact site determined from STM imaging.enAg clustersSilverGrapheneSTMEpitaxial deposition of silver ultrafine nano-clusters on defect-free surfaces of HOPG-derived few-layer graphene in a UHV multi-chamber by in-situ STM, ex-situ XPS and ab initio calculationsArticleNdlovu, G., Roos, W., Wang, Z., Asante, J., Mashapa, M., Jafta, C., ... Hillie, K. (2012). Epitaxial deposition of silver ultrafine nano-clusters on defect-free surfaces of HOPG-derived few-layer graphene in a UHV multi-chamber by in-situ STM, ex-situ XPS and ab initio calculations. http://hdl.handle.net/10204/5836Ndlovu, GF, WD Roos, ZM Wang, JKO Asante, MG Mashapa, C Jafta, Bonex W Mwakikunga, and KT Hillie "Epitaxial deposition of silver ultrafine nano-clusters on defect-free surfaces of HOPG-derived few-layer graphene in a UHV multi-chamber by in-situ STM, ex-situ XPS and ab initio calculations." (2012) http://hdl.handle.net/10204/5836Ndlovu G, Roos W, Wang Z, Asante J, Mashapa M, Jafta C, et al. Epitaxial deposition of silver ultrafine nano-clusters on defect-free surfaces of HOPG-derived few-layer graphene in a UHV multi-chamber by in-situ STM, ex-situ XPS and ab initio calculations. 2012; http://hdl.handle.net/10204/5836.TY - Article AU - Ndlovu, GF AU - Roos, WD AU - Wang, ZM AU - Asante, JKO AU - Mashapa, MG AU - Jafta, C AU - Mwakikunga, Bonex W AU - Hillie, KT AB - The growth of three-dimensional ultra-fine spherical nano-particles of silver on few layers of graphene derived from highly oriented pyrolytic graphite in ultra-high vacuum were characterized using in situ scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) in conjunction with X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The energetics of the Ag clusters was determined by DFT simulations. The Ag clusters appeared spherical with size distribution averaging approximately 2 nm in diameter. STM revealed the preferred site for the position of the Ag atom in the C-benzene ring of graphene. Of the three sites, the C-C bridge, the C-hexagon hollow, and the direct top of the C atom, Ag prefers to stay on top of the C atom, contrary to expectation of the hexagon-close packing. Ab initio calculations confirm the lowest potential energy between Ag and the graphene structure to be at the exact site determined from STM imaging. DA - 2012-03 DB - ResearchSpace DP - CSIR KW - Ag clusters KW - Silver KW - Graphene KW - STM LK - https://researchspace.csir.co.za PY - 2012 SM - 1556-276X SM - 1931-7573 T1 - Epitaxial deposition of silver ultrafine nano-clusters on defect-free surfaces of HOPG-derived few-layer graphene in a UHV multi-chamber by in-situ STM, ex-situ XPS and ab initio calculations TI - Epitaxial deposition of silver ultrafine nano-clusters on defect-free surfaces of HOPG-derived few-layer graphene in a UHV multi-chamber by in-situ STM, ex-situ XPS and ab initio calculations UR - http://hdl.handle.net/10204/5836 ER -