Conversion of multilayer graphene into continuous ultrathin sp³-bonded carbon films on metal surfaces

The conversion of multilayer graphenes into sp(3)-bonded carbon films on metal surfaces (through hydrogenation or fluorination of the outer surface of the top graphene layer) is indicated through first-principles computations. The main driving force for this conversion is the hybridization between sp(3) orbitals and metal surface dz(2) orbitals. The induced electronic gap states and spin moments in the carbon layers are confined in a region within 0.5 nm of the metal surface. Whether the conversion occurs depend on the fraction of hydrogenated (fluorinated) C atoms at the outer surface and on the number of stacked graphene layers. In the analysis of the Eliashberg spectral functions for the sp(3) carbon films on a metal surface that is diamagnetic, the strong covalent metal-sp(3) carbon bonds induce soft phonon modes that predominantly contribute to large electron-phonon couplings, suggesting the possibility of phonon-mediated superconductivity. Our computational results suggest a route to experimental realization of large-area ultrathin sp(3)-bonded carbon films on metal surfaces.