Implementing new properties in graphene nanoribbons through control over atomic structure

Depending on their shape, structure and edges, graphene nanoribbons (GNRs) (narrow strips of graphene) exhibit wide-ranging electronic behavior, such as a tunable band gap, localized electronic states, and spins. These properties can efficiently be controlled by making a use of a toolkit of structural modifications.
In my presentation, I will show several new GNRs and nanographenes that we have made, where moieties such as four-membered rings, triangulenes and nitrogen atoms induce interesting electronic behavior. Nitrogen doping in particular leads to the emergence of new electronic states that can be coupled to create new electronic bands. The coupling strength can be tuned by inter-defect distance. Our discoveries pave the way towards carbon-based electronic devices, spintronics and qubits.