Electron-beam Introduction of Heteroatomic Pt-Si Structures in Graphene

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates the in situ manipulation and insertion of Pt atoms into graphene using electron-beam techniques, forming stable heteroatomic Pt-Si clusters and expanding the potential for atomic assembly and cluster chemistry exploration.

Contribution

It introduces a novel method for manipulating and inserting Pt atoms into graphene, creating stable Pt-Si heteroatomic clusters, and broadening the scope of e-beam atomic assembly.

Findings

Successful in situ insertion of Pt atoms into graphene.

Formation of Si-stabilized Pt heteroatomic clusters.

Evidence for universality of e-beam assembly approach.

Abstract

Electron-beam (e-beam) manipulation of single dopant atoms in an aberration-corrected scanning transmission electron microscope is emerging as a method for directed atomic motion and atom-by-atom assembly. Until now, the dopant species have been limited to atoms closely matched to carbon in terms of ionic radius and capable of strong covalent bonding with carbon atoms in the graphene lattice. In situ dopant insertion into a graphene lattice has thus far been demonstrated only for Si, which is ubiquitously present as a contaminant in this material. Here, we achieve in situ manipulation of Pt atoms and their insertion into the graphene host matrix using the e-beam deposited Pt on graphene as a host system. We further demonstrate a mechanism for stabilization of the Pt atom, enabled through the formation of Si-stabilized Pt heteroatomic clusters attached to the graphene surface. This study provides evidence toward the universality of the e-beam assembly approach, opening a pathway for exploring cluster chemistry through direct assembly.