Physical origin of enhanced electrical conduction in aluminum-graphene composites

The electronic and transport properties of aluminum-graphene composite materials were investigated using the ab initio plane wave density functional theory. The interfacial structure is reported for several configurations. In some cases, the face-centered aluminum (111) surface relaxes in a nearly i...

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Veröffentlicht in:Applied physics letters 2024-02, Vol.124 (9)
Hauptverfasser: Nepal, K., Ugwumadu, C., Subedi, K. N., Kappagantula, K., Drabold, D. A.
Format: Artikel
Sprache:eng
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Zusammenfassung:The electronic and transport properties of aluminum-graphene composite materials were investigated using the ab initio plane wave density functional theory. The interfacial structure is reported for several configurations. In some cases, the face-centered aluminum (111) surface relaxes in a nearly ideal registry with graphene, resulting in a remarkably continuous interface structure. The Kubo–Greenwood formula and space-projected conductivity were employed to study electronic conduction in aluminum single- and double-layer graphene-aluminum composite models. The electronic density of states at the Fermi level is enhanced by the graphene for certain aluminum–graphene interfaces, thus improving electronic conductivity. In double-layer graphene composites, conductivity varies non-monotonically with temperature, showing an increase between 300 and 400 K at short aluminum-graphene distances, unlike the consistent decrease in single-layer composites.
ISSN:0003-6951
1077-3118
DOI:10.1063/5.0195967