Properties of heavy rare-gases adlayers on graphene substrates

L Madeira and SA Vitiello, SURFACE SCIENCE, 655, 39-48 (2017).

DOI: 10.1016/j.susc.2016.08.008

We investigated several properties of heavy rare-gases, Ne, Ar, Kr, Xe and Rn, adsorbed on graphene substrates in a range of temperature near their melting transition and at some of the representative densities. We have determined radial distribution functions and spacial distributions of the rare-gases adlayers using molecular dynamics simulations. We gathered evidences that Ne and Kr adlayers form commensurate solids. The specific heat and the melting temperature of the adlayers were calculated. At the conditions that our simulations were performed, we find indications supporting a continuous melting of the adlayers. We estimated the nearest neighbor distance of the adatoms, and we determined their average distance to the substrate. We briefly comment on the wetting behavior of the system.

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