Damaging graphene with ozone treatment: a chemically tunable metal-insulator transition.
We present a multiscale ab initio study of electronic and transport properties of two-dimensional graphene after epoxide functionalization via ozone treatment. The orbital rehybridization induced by the epoxide groups triggers a strong intervalley scattering and changes dramatically the conduction properties of graphene. By varying the coverage density of epoxide defects from 0.1 to 4%, charge conduction can be tuned from a diffusive to a strongly localized regime, with localization lengths down to a few nanometers long. Experimental results supporting the interpretation as a metal-insulator transition are also provided.
Leconte
Nicolas
N
IMCN, Universite Catholique de Louvain, Place Croix du Sud 1 (PCPM-ETSF), B-1348 Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium.
Moser
Joël
J
Ordejón
Pablo
P
Tao
Haihua
H
Lherbier
Aurélien
A
Bachtold
Adrian
A
Alsina
Francesc
F
Sotomayor Torres
Clivia M
CM
Charlier
Jean-Christophe
JC
Roche
Stephan
S