Single Indium Atoms and Few-Atom Indium Clusters Anchored onto Graphene via Silicon Heteroatoms.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 34410707.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1021/acsnano.1c03535 and PMC identifier 8482752.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
Single atoms and few-atom nanoclusters are of high interest in catalysis and plasmonics, but pathways for their fabrication and placement remain scarce. We report here the self-assembly of room-temperature-stable single indium (In) atoms and few-atom In clusters (2-6 atoms) that are anchored to substitutional silicon (Si) impurity atoms in suspended monolayer graphene membranes. Using atomically resolved scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM), we find that the symmetry of the In structures is critically determined by the three- or fourfold coordination of the Si "anchors". All structures are produced without electron-beam induced materials modification. In turn, when activated by electron beam irradiation in the STEM, we observe <i>in situ</i> the formation, restructuring, and translation of the Si-anchored In structures. Our results on In-Si-graphene provide a materials system for controlled self-assembly and heteroatomic anchoring of single atoms and few-atom nanoclusters on graphene.