Epitaxial growth and structural property of graphene on Pt(111)

We report on epitaxial growth of graphene on Pt(111) surface. It was found out that the proportion of different rotational domains varies with growth temperature and the graphene quality can be improved by adjusting both the growth temperature and ethylene exposure. Rippled and unrippled domains of high quality graphene are observed. The adhesive energy and electronic structure of two models, representing rippled and unrippled graphene, are obtained with density functional theory calculation, which shows that the interaction between graphene and Pt(111) surface is very weak and the electronic structure is nearly the same as that of a free standing graphene. (c) 2011 American Institute of Physics. [doi:10.1063/1.3543624]