title: Formation of Silicene Nanosheets on Graphite.
abstract: The extraordinary properties of graphene have spurred huge interest in the experimental realization of a two-dimensional honeycomb lattice of silicon, namely, silicene. However, its synthesis on supporting substrates remains a challenging issue. Recently, strong doubts against the possibility of synthesizing silicene on metallic substrates have been brought forward because of the non-negligible interaction between silicon and metal atoms. To solve the growth problems, we directly deposited silicon on a chemically inert graphite substrate at room temperature. Based on atomic force microscopy, scanning tunneling microscopy, and ab initio molecular dynamics simulations, we reveal the growth of silicon nanosheets where the substrate-silicon interaction is minimized. Scanning tunneling microscopy measurements clearly display the atomically resolved unit cell and the small buckling of the silicene honeycomb structure. Similar to the carbon atoms in graphene, each of the silicon atoms has three nearest and six second nearest neighbors, thus demonstrating its dominant sp2configuration. Our scanning tunneling spectroscopy investigations confirm the metallic character of the deposited silicene, in excellent agreement with our band structure calculations that also exhibit the presence of a Dirac cone.
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Fisica, Università di Roma "Tor Vergata" , 00133 Roma, Italy.
authors.forename: Maurizio
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-2935-8714
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: De Crescenzi
authors.affiliation: CNRS, Aix-Marseille Université , IM2NP, UMR 7334, Campus de St. Jérome, 13397 Marseille, France.
authors.forename: Isabelle
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Berbezier
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Fisica, Università di Roma "Tor Vergata" , 00133 Roma, Italy.
authors.forename: Manuela
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Scarselli
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Fisica, Università di Roma "Tor Vergata" , 00133 Roma, Italy.
authors.forename: Paola
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Castrucci
authors.affiliation: CNRS, Aix-Marseille Université , IM2NP, UMR 7334, Campus de St. Jérome, 13397 Marseille, France.
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Abbarchi
authors.affiliation: CNRS, Aix-Marseille Université , IM2NP, UMR 7334, Campus de St. Jérome, 13397 Marseille, France.
authors.forename: Antoine
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ronda
authors.affiliation: CNRS-LPICM, Ecole Polytechnique, Université Paris-Saclay , 91128 Palaiseau, France.
authors.forename: Fatme
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Jardali
authors.affiliation: CNRS-LPICM, Ecole Polytechnique, Université Paris-Saclay , 91128 Palaiseau, France.
authors.forename: Jejune
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Park
authors.affiliation: CNRS-LPICM, Ecole Polytechnique, Université Paris-Saclay , 91128 Palaiseau, France.
authors.forename: Holger
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Vach
keywords: 2D nanomaterials; ab initio molecular dynamics simulations; density functional theory; electronic density of states measurement and calculations; scanning tunneling microscopy; silicene; silicon growth