▎ 摘　　要

Thermionic emission from monolayer graphene grown on representative transition metals, Ir and Ru, is characterized by low-energy electron microscopy. Work functions were determined from the temperature dependence of the emission current and from the electron energy spectrum of emitted electrons. The high-temperature work function of the strongly interacting system graphene/Ru(0001) is sufficiently low, 3.3 +/- 0.1 eV, to have technological potential for large-area emitters that are spatially uniform, efficient, and chemically inert. The thermionic work functions of the less strongly interacting system graphene/Ir(111) are over 1 eV larger and vary substantially (0.4 eV) between graphene orientations rotated by 30 degrees. (C) 2012 American Institute of Physics. [http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.4711212]