Electronic and magnetic behaviors of graphene with 5d series transition metal atom substitutions: A first-principles study

• All the 5d transition metal are covalently bonded to defective graphene.
• Magnetic moments were detected in the Ta, W, Re and Ir-substituted graphene.
• After the substitution of Hf, Pt and Os impurities, an energy gap appears.
• The Re and Ir-substituted graphene can be useful for spintronic applications.
• W-substituted system exhibits dilute magnetic semiconductor property.

The electronic structures and magnetic behaviors of graphene with 5d series transition metal atom substitutions are investigated by performing first-principles calculations. All the impurities are tightly bonded to single vacancy in a graphene sheet. The substitutions of La and Ta lead to Fermi level shifting to valence and conduction band, respectively. Both the two substitutions result in metallic properties. Moreover, the Hf, Os and Pt-substituted systems exhibit semiconductor properties, while the Re and Ir-substituted ones exhibit robust half-metallic properties. Interestingly, W-substituted system shows dilute magnetic semiconductor property. On the other hand, the substitution of Ta, W, Re and Ir induce 0.86 μB, 2 μB, 1 μB and 0.99 μB magnetic moment, respectively. Our studies demonstrate that the 5d series transition metal substituted graphene have potential applications in nanoelectronics, spintronics and magnetic storage devices.

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