Physical origin of enhanced electrical conduction in aluminum-graphene composites
Abstract
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.
- Publication:
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Applied Physics Letters
- Pub Date:
- February 2024
- DOI:
- 10.1063/5.0195967
- arXiv:
- arXiv:2401.02348
- Bibcode:
- 2024ApPhL.124i1902N
- Keywords:
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- ADVANCED MATERIALS;
- Condensed Matter - Materials Science
- E-Print:
- doi:10.1063/5.0195967