• 文献标题:   Unexpected softness of bilayer graphene and softening of A-A stacked graphene layers
  • 文献类型:   Article
  • 作  者:   SUN YW, HOLEC D, GEHRINGER D, FENWICK O, DUNSTAN DJ, HUMPHREYS CJ
  • 作者关键词:  
  • 出版物名称:   PHYSICAL REVIEW B
  • ISSN:   2469-9950 EI 2469-9969
  • 通讯作者地址:   Queen Mary Univ London
  • 被引频次:   0
  • DOI:   10.1103/PhysRevB.101.125421
  • 出版年:   2020

▎ 摘  要

Density functional theory has been used to investigate the behavior of the pi electrons in bilayer graphene and graphite under compression along the c axis. We have studied both conventional Bernal (A-B) and A-A stackings of the graphene layers. In bilayer graphene, only about 0.5% of the pi-electron density is squeezed through the sp(2) network for a compression of 20%, regardless of the stacking order. However, this has a major effect, resulting in bilayer graphene being about six times softer than graphite along the c axis. Under compression along the c axis, the heavily deformed electron orbitals (mainly those of the pi electrons) increase the interlayer interaction between the graphene layers as expected, but, surprisingly, to a similar extent for A-A and Bernal stackings. On the other hand, this compression shifts the in-plane phonon frequencies of A-A stacked graphene layers significantly and very differently from the Bernal stacked layers. We attribute these results to some sp(2) electrons in A-A stacking escaping the graphene plane and filling lower charge-density regions when under compression, hence, resulting in a nonmonotonic change in the sp(2) bond stiffness.