First-principles study of electronic and magnetic properties of transition metal adsorbed h-BNC2 sheets

Adsorption of Fe, Co and Ni atoms on a hybrid hexagonal sheet of graphene and boron nitride is studied using density functional methods. Most favorable adsorption sites for these adatoms are identified for different widths of the graphene and boron nitride regions. Electronic structure and magnetic properties of the TM-adsorbed sheets are then studied in detail. The TM atoms change the electronic structure of the sheet significantly, and the resulting system can be a magnetic semiconductor, semi-metal, or a non-magnetic semiconductor depending on the TM chosen. This gives tunability of properties which can be useful in novel electronics applications. Finally, barriers for diffusion of the adatoms on the sheet are calculated, and their tendency to agglomerate on the sheet is estimated.