The electronic properties of non-conventional α-graphyne nanoribbons

Abstract

Graphyne nanocarbons are composed of a mixture of sp and sp² hybridized atoms in different ratios and distributions. In addition to pure hexagonal systems, non-conventional graphynic structures can also accommodate non-hexagonal rings, as proposed recently on the basis of previously studied haeckelites. Here we use computational simulations to investigate the electronic properties emerging from quantum confinement when such 2D systems are cast into different families of nanoribbons. We show that the electronic behavior of these ribbons closely follow those of their 2D counterparts. However, we find that part of these quasi-1D systems become semiconductors due to the emergence of spin-polarized states at their edges. We further investigate how such multiple spin-configurations influence the electronic transport properties of nanojunctions involving these non-conventional graphyne nanoribbons. These findings highlight how details of these graphyne nanoribbons' atomic structure can be used to tune their electronic properties for targeted applications in nanoelectronics.