Aggregation of ferromagnetic and paramagnetic atoms at edges of graphenes and graphite

Abstract

In this work we report that when ferromagnetic metals (Fe, Co and Ni) are thermally evaporated onto n-layer graphenes and graphite, a metal nanowire and adjacent nanogaps can be found along the edges regardless of its zigzag or armchair structure. Similar features can also be observed for paramagnetic metals, such as Mn, Al and Pd. Meanwhile, metal nanowires and adjacent nanogaps cannot be found for diamagnetic metals (Au and Ag). An external magnetic field during the evaporation of metals can make these unique features disappear for ferromagnetic and paramagnetic metal; and the morphologies of diamagnetic metal do not change after the application of an external magnetic field. We discuss the possible reasons for these novel and interesting results, which include possible one-dimensional ferromagnets along the edge and edge-related binding energy.