Electronic states of aryl radical functionalized graphenes: Density functional theory study

Abstract

Functionalized graphenes are known as a high-performance molecular device. In the present study, the structures and electronic states of the aryl radical functionalized graphene have been investigated by the density functional theory (DFT) method to elucidate the effects of functionalization on the electronic states of graphene (GR). Also, the mechanism of aryl radical reaction with GR was investigated. The benzene, biphenyl, p-terphenyl, and p-quaterphenyl radicals [denoted by (Bz)n (n = 1–4), where n means numbers of benzene rings in aryl radical] were examined as aryl radicals. The DFT calculation of GR–(Bz)n (n = 1–4) showed that the aryl radical binds to the carbon atom of GR, and a C–C single bond was formed. The binding energies of aryl radicals to GR were calculated to be ca. 6.0 kcal mol−1 at the CAM-B3LYP/6-311G(d,p) level. It was found that the activation barrier exists in the aryl radical addition: the barrier heights were calculated to be 10.0 kcal mol−1. The electronic states of GR–(Bz)n were examined on the basis of theoretical results.