Structure and growth of hexagonal boron nitride on Ir(111)

DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.6b05819

Authors: Ferdinand Farwick Zum Hagen (Universität zu Köln) , Domenik M. Zimmermann (Universität zu Köln) , Caio C. Silva (Universität zu Köln; Wilhelms-Universität Münster) , Christoph Schlueter (Diamond Light Source) , Nicolae Atodiresei (Peter Grünberg Institut (PGI) and Institute for Advanced Simulation (IAS)) , Wouter Jolie (Universität zu Köln) , Antonio J. Martínez-Galera (Universität zu Köln) , Daniela Dombrowski (Universität zu Köln) , Ulrike A. Schröder (Universität zu Köln) , Moritz Will (Universität zu Köln) , Predrag Lazić (Institut Ruđer Bošković) , Vasile Caciuc (Peter Grünberg Institut (PGI) and Institute for Advanced Simulation (IAS)) , Stefan Blügel (Peter Grünberg Institut (PGI) and Institute for Advanced Simulation (IAS)) , Tien-Lin Lee (Diamond Light Source) , Thomas Michely (Universität zu Köln) , Carsten Busse (Universität zu Köln; Wilhelms-Universität Münster)
Co-authored by industrial partner: No

Type: Journal Paper
Journal: Acs Nano

State: Published (Approved)
Published: November 2016
Diamond Proposal Number(s): 9012 , 10320 , 12447

Abstract: Using the X-ray standing wave method, scanning tunneling microscopy, low energy electron diffraction, and density functional theory, we precisely determine the lateral and vertical structure of hexagonal boron nitride on Ir(111). The moiré superstructure leads to a periodic arrangement of strongly chemisorbed valleys in an otherwise rather flat, weakly physisorbed plane. The best commensurate approximation of the moiré unit cell is (12 × 12) boron nitride cells resting on (11 × 11) substrate cells, which is at variance with several earlier studies. We uncover the existence of two fundamentally different mechanisms of layer formation for hexagonal boron nitride, namely, nucleation and growth as opposed to network formation without nucleation. The different pathways are linked to different distributions of rotational domains, and the latter enables selection of a single orientation only.

Journal Keywords: epitaxial growth; graphene; hexagonal boron nitride; Ir(111); moiré; scanning tunneling microscopy; X-ray standing waves

Subject Areas: Chemistry, Materials


Instruments: I09-Surface and Interface Structural Analysis

Added On: 28/11/2016 15:11

Discipline Tags:

Chemistry Materials Science Nanoscience/Nanotechnology

Technical Tags:

Diffraction Spectroscopy X-ray Standing Wave (XSW) X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS)