Ferrimagnetism in zigzag graphene nanoribbons induced by main-group adatoms

Density functional calculations for zigzag graphene nanoribbons (ZGNRs) with adsorbed adatom A(D) (= B, C, N) show that these adatoms prefer the sites near the edge, and convert the antiferromagnetism of pristine ZGNRs into ferrimagnetism with high magnetic moment (i.e., 1, 2, and 1 mu(B) per adatom for A(D) = B, C, and N, respectively). Further, the migration of the adatoms from one edge to the other across the ribbon is difficult. Thus, the ZGNRs with adsorbed adatom are promising for the future development of nanoscale functional spintronics and electric devices. (C) 2010 American Institute of Physics. [doi: 10.1063/1.3327884]