Structural and electronic properties of grain boundaries in graphite: Planes of periodically distributed point defects

Abstract

We report on scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy of grain boundaries in highly oriented pyrolytic graphite. Grain boundaries showed a periodic structure and an enhanced charge density compared to the bare graphite surface. Two possible periodic structures have been observed along grain boundaries. A geometrical model producing periodically distributed point defects on the basal plane of graphite has been proposed to explain the structure of grain boundaries. Scanning tunneling spectroscopy on grain boundaries revealed two strong localized states at $-0.3$ and 0.4 V which extended up to a 4 nm distance from grain boundaries.