José I. Martínez, Pablo Merino, Anna L. Pinardi, Otero-Irurueta Gonzalo, María F. López, Javier Méndez, José A. Martín-Gago. 2016. Role of the Pinning Points in epitaxial Graphene Moire Superstructures on the Pt(111) Surface. Scientific Reports 6, DOI: 10.1038/srep20354
The intrinsic atomic mechanisms responsible for electronic doping of epitaxial graphene Moires on transition metal surfaces is still an open issue. To better understand this process we have carried out a first-principles full characterization of the most representative Moire superstructures observed on the Gr/Pt(111) system and confronted the results with atomically resolved scanning tunneling microscopy experiments. We find that for all reported Moires the system relaxes inducing a non-negligible atomic corrugation both, at the graphene and at the outermost platinum layer. Interestingly, a mirror “anti-Moire” reconstruction appears at the substrate, giving rise to the appearance of pinning-points. We show that these points are responsible for the development of the superstructure, while charge from the Pt substrate is injected into the graphene, inducing a local n-doping, mostly localized at these specific pinning-point positions.
