Self-consistent model of edge doping in graphene

Abstract

Dopants positioned near edges in nanostructured graphene behave differently from bulk dopants. Most notable, the amount of charge transferred to delocalized states (i.e., doping efficiency) depends on position as well as edge chirality. We apply a self-consistent tight-binding model to analyze this problem focusing on substitutional nitrogen and boron doping. Using a Green's-function technique, very large structures can be studied, and artificial interactions between dopants in periodically repeated simulations cells are avoided. We find pronounced signatures of edges in the local impurity density of states. Importantly, the doping efficiency is found to oscillate with sublattice position, in particular, for dopants near zigzag edges. Finally, to assess the effect of electron-electron interactions, we compute the self-energy corrected Green's function.