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arXiv · 2004.02514

Atomically-Precise, Custom-Design Origami Graphene Nanostructures

Hui Chen·Xian-Li Zhang·Yu-Yang Zhang·Dongfei Wang·De-Liang Bao·Yande Que·Wende Xiao·Shixuan Du·Min Ouyang·Sokrates T. Pantelides·Hong-Jun Gao
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Abstract

The construction of atomically-precise carbon nanostructures holds promise for developing novel materials for scientific study and nanotechnology applications. Here we show that graphene origami is an efficient way to convert graphene into atomically-precise, complex, and novel nanostructures. By scanning-tunneling-microscope manipulation at low temperature, we repeatedly fold and unfold graphene nanoislands (GNIs) along arbitrarily chosen direction. A bilayer graphene stack featuring a tunable twist angle and a tubular edge connection between the layers are formed. Folding single-crystal GNIs creates tubular edges with specified chirality and one-dimensional electronic features similar to those of carbon nanotubes, while folding bi-crystal GNIs creates well-defined intramolecular junctions. Both origami structural models and electronic band structures were computed to complement analysis of the experimental results. The present atomically-precise graphene origami provides a platform for constructing novel carbon nanostructures with engineered quantum properties and ultimately quantum machines.

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Hui Chen, Xian-Li Zhang, Yu-Yang Zhang, Dongfei Wang, De-Liang Bao, Yande Que, Wende Xiao, Shixuan Du, Min Ouyang, Sokrates T. Pantelides, Hong-Jun Gao. 2020-04-06. Atomically-Precise, Custom-Design Origami Graphene Nanostructures. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aax7864

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