Strain Investigation on Spin-Dependent Transport Properties of γ-Graphyne Nanoribbon Between Gold Electrodes

• Main Authors: Yun Li, Xiaobo Li, Shidong Zhang, Liemao Cao, Fangping Ouyang, Mengqiu Long
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: SpringerOpen 2021-01-01
• Series: Nanoscale Research Letters
• Subjects: γ-Graphyne nanoribbon; Strain engineering; Spin splitting; Electronic device; Density functional theory
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1186/s11671-020-03461-3

Abstract Strain engineering has become one of the effective methods to tune the electronic structures of materials, which can be introduced into the molecular junction to induce some unique physical effects. The various γ-graphyne nanoribbons (γ-GYNRs) embedded between gold (Au) electrodes with strain controlling have been designed, involving the calculation of the spin-dependent transport properties by employing the density functional theory. Our calculated results exhibit that the presence of strain has a great effect on transport properties of molecular junctions, which can obviously enhance the coupling between the γ-GYNR and Au electrodes. We find that the current flowing through the strained nanojunction is larger than that of the unstrained one. What is more, the length and strained shape of the γ-GYNR serves as the important factors which affect the transport properties of molecular junctions. Simultaneously, the phenomenon of spin-splitting occurs after introducing strain into nanojunction, implying that strain engineering may be a new means to regulate the electron spin. Our work can provide theoretical basis for designing of high performance graphyne-based devices in the future.