Molecular dynamics study of the structural modification of graphene by electron irradiation

Abstract

Molecular dynamics simulations have been used to study the structural modification of graphene by electron irradiation. The authors used the Monte Carlo method to introduce the interaction between incident electrons and carbon atoms in graphene. Then, the effects of electron energy and incident angle on irradiation defects in single-layer graphene were studied, and the cutting of single-layer graphene using different methods of electron irradiation was compared. Following this, the authors simulated the process of single atom chain formation from single-layer graphene using electron irradiation. They also demonstrated the formation of three-dimensional structures, such as tubular structures and nanotube junctions, in bilayer graphene by electron irradiation. The simulations show the capability of structural modification of graphene to a variety of nanostructures by electron irradiation.