Magnetic Properties of Quasi-One-Dimensional Crystals Formed by Graphene Nanoclusters and Embedded Atoms of the Transition Metals

Abstract

Using the density-matrix renormalization group method and quantum Monte Carlo simulation, we studied numerically the energy spectrum and thermodynamics of the quantum Heisenberg spin model for narrow graphene nanoribbons and their derivatives with periodically embedded heteroatoms. For several nanoribbon structures we found macroscopic ground state spin, gapless lowest excitation spectra and intermediate magnetization plateaus at low temperatures. We also studied the lowest energy states of frustrated systems formed by triangular graphitic clusters connected by bridged ions of transition metals. On the base of many-body perturbation theory and the exact diagonalization method, we showed the possibility of spin switching for this model due to the change the corresponding coupling parameters.

Keywords

• graphene clusters
• intermediate magnetization plateau
• spin switching