Electron Localization and Mobility in Monolayer Fullerene Networks.

Capobianco, Amedeo; Wiktor, Julia; Landi, Alessandro; Ambrosio, Francesco; Peluso, Andrea · Nano Lett · 2024

basic_science · Level V

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Abstract

The novel 2D quasi-hexagonal phase of covalently bonded fullerene molecules (qHP C<sub>60</sub>), the so-called graphullerene, has displayed far superior electron mobilities, if compared to the parent van der Waals three-dimensional crystal (vdW C<sub>60</sub>). Herein, we present a comparative study of the electronic properties of vdW and qHP C<sub>60</sub> using state-of-the-art electronic-structure calculations and a full quantum-mechanical treatment of electron transfer. We show that both materials entail polaronic localization of electrons with similar binding energies (≈0.1 eV) and, therefore, they share the same charge transport via polaron hopping. In fact, we quantitatively reproduce the sizable increment of the electron mobility measured for qHP C<sub>60</sub> and identify its origin in the increased electronic coupling between C<sub>60</sub> units.