ACS Nano 4, 5773-5782 (2010) Coupling Epitaxy, Chemical Bonding, and Work Function at the Local Scale in Transition Metal-Supported Graphene Bo Wang, Marco Caffio, Catherine Bromley, Herbert Früchtl, and Renald Schaub* School of Chemistry, University of St. Andrews, St. Andrews, KY16 9ST, United Kingdom Corresponding Author (*):
[email protected]. Resonance tunneling spectroscopy and density functional theory calculations are employed to explore local variations in the electronic surface potential of a single graphene layer grown on Rh(111). A work function modulation of 220 meV is experimentally measured, indicating that the chemical bonding strength varies significantly across the supercell of the Moiré pattern formed when graphene is bonded to Rh(111). In combination with high-resolution images, which provide precise knowledge of the local atomic registry at the carbonmetal interface, we identify experimentally, and confirm theoretically, the atomic configuration of maximum chemical bonding to the substrate. Our observations are at odds with reported trends for other transition metal substrates. We explain why this is the case by considering the various factors that contribute to the bonding at the graphene/metal interface. KEYWORDS Graphene, rhodium, chemical bonding, scanning tunnelling microscopy, density functional theory, work function dx.doi.org/10.1021/nn101520k Received: July 5, 2010 Accepted: September 24, 2010 Published: October 1, 2010 1 ACS Nano 4, 5773-5782 (2010) Graphene has attracted considerable interest since resonance tunnelling spectroscopy (RTS) researchers at the University of Manchester measurements to probe for the modulation of the extracted a single graphene sheet by electronic surface potential (or work function) across micromechanical cleavage.1 This sp2-bonded carbon the unit cell of the graphene superlattice.