Strain control of magnetism in graphene decorated by transition-metal atoms

We report a strain-controlled tuning of magnetism in graphene decorated by transition-metal (TM) atoms. Our first-principles calculations demonstrate that strain can lead to a sudden change in the magnetic configuration of a TM adatom and the local atomic structure in the surrounding graphene layer. A strong spin-dependent hybridization between TM d and graphene pi orbital states, derived from the orbital selection rule of the local lattice symmetry, is responsible for the determination of the local electronic and magnetic structure. Our results indicate that the strain can be an effective way to control the magnetism of atomic-scale nanostructures, where the reliable control of their magnetic states is a key step for the future spintronic applications.