Speaker
Kontantin Zakharchenko
Description
Nanopores – nanometer-size channels hold significant promise
for numerous applications: DNA sequencing, sensing,
biosensing and molecular detectors, and catalysis and water
desalination. However, these applications require accurate
control over the size of the nanopores. Our simulations
clearly point to at least two distinct healing mechanisms
for graphene sheets: edge attachment (where carbons are
attached to the edges of the graphene sheet/pore) and direct
insertion (where individual atoms insert directly into a
sheet of graphene, even in the absence of the edges).
The insertion mechanism is a surprising prediction that
points to the growth process that would be operational in
pristine graphene. We have uncovered an unusual dependence
in the speed of nanopore regrowth and the structure of
‘‘healed’’ areas as a function of its size in a wide range
of temperatures. Our findings point to significantly more
complicated pathways for graphene annealing.
