# Tailoring Intercalant Assemblies at the Graphene-Metal Interface

## TL;DR

This study investigates how graphene influences the assembly of intercalated materials at interfaces, revealing substrate reconstruction and intercalant structures using advanced microscopy techniques.

## Contribution

It provides new insights into intercalant assembly and substrate reconstruction at graphene-metal interfaces, using low-temperature STM to observe atomic-scale phenomena.

## Key findings

- Pt intercalation induces substrate reconstruction distinct from homoepitaxy.
- Cs and Li form ordered intercalant structures at specific coverages.
- Intercalant structures are aligned with the graphene lattice.

## Abstract

The influence of graphene on the assembly of intercalated material is studied using low-temperature scanning tunneling microscopy. Intercalation of Pt under monolayer graphene on Pt(111) induces a substrate reconstruction that is qualitatively different from the lattice rearrangement induced by metal deposition on Pt(111) and, specifically, the homoepitaxy of Pt. Alkali metals Cs and Li are used as intercalants for monolayer and bilayer graphene on Ru(0001). Atomically resolved topographic data reveal that at elevated alkali metal coverage $(2\times 2)$Cs and $(1\times 1)$Li intercalant structures form with respect to the graphene lattice.