title: Controlled formation of sharp zigzag and armchair edges in graphitic nanoribbons.
abstract: Graphene nanoribbons can exhibit either quasi-metallic or semiconducting behavior, depending on the atomic structure of their edges. Thus, it is important to control the morphology and crystallinity of these edges for practical purposes. We demonstrated an efficient edge-reconstruction process, at the atomic scale, for graphitic nanoribbons by Joule heating. During Joule heating and electron beam irradiation, carbon atoms are vaporized, and subsequently sharp edges and step-edge arrays are stabilized, mostly with either zigzag- or armchair-edge configurations. Model calculations show that the dominant annealing mechanisms involve point defect annealing and edge reconstruction.
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139-4307, USA.
authors.forename: Xiaoting
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Jia
authors.forename: Mario
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hofmann
authors.forename: Vincent
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Meunier
authors.forename: Bobby G
authors.initials: BG
authors.lastname: Sumpter
authors.forename: Jessica
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Campos-Delgado
authors.forename: José Manuel
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Romo-Herrera
authors.forename: Hyungbin
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Son
authors.forename: Ya-Ping
authors.initials: YP
authors.lastname: Hsieh
authors.forename: Alfonso
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Reina
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kong
authors.forename: Mauricio
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Terrones
authors.forename: Mildred S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Dresselhaus