Kinetics of atomic ordering in metal-doped graphene

TL;DR

This paper develops a kinetic model to understand atomic ordering in metal-doped graphene, revealing complex nonmonotonic ordering behaviors influenced by sublattice interactions.

Contribution

It introduces a new kinetic model for atomic ordering in metal-doped graphene considering both stoichiometric and nonstoichiometric compositions.

Findings

Kinetic curves of LRO parameters can be nonmonotonic.

Different interchange energies lead to complex ordering behaviors.

Model applies to various compositions of metal-doped graphene.

Abstract

Possible stably-ordered substitutional structures based on a graphene-type crystal lattice are considered. A kinetic model of atomic ordering in metal-doped graphene with stoichiometric (1/8, 1/4, 1/2) and nonstoichiometric compositions is developed. Inasmuch as the intrasublattice and intersublattice 'interchange' ('mixing') energies are competitively different for graphene-based lattice, kinetic curves of the long-range order (LRO) parameters may be nonmonotonic for the structures described by two or three LRO parameters.