Electronic structure of graphene on Ni surfaces with different orientation

An experimental study of the graphene, synthesized by propylene cracking on Ni surfaces with different orientation: (100) and (111), using angle-resolved photoemission, has been performed. It has been shown that graphene on Ni(111) had a perfect lateral structure due to consistency of their lattices, whereas graphene/Ni(100) consisted of a lot of domains. For both systems electronic structure was quite similar and demonstrated a strong bonding of graphene to the underlying Ni surface. After Au intercalation the electronic structure of graphene in both systems was shifted to the Fermi level and became linear in the vicinity of the K point of the Brillouin zone. [Display omitted] •Graphene on Ni(111) is well-ordered, whereas on Ni(100) – multi-domain.•Graphene on Ni(111) and Ni(100) is strongly bonded with substrate.•Intercalation of Au atoms restores the linearity in dispersion and makes graphene quasi-free on both Ni(100) and Ni(111).