First-principles methods were used to calculate the properties of adatom defects on a graphite surface. By applying a full spin-polarized description to the system, it was demonstrated that these defects had a magnetic moment of about 0.5µB. Its role in diffusion over the surface was also calculated. The magnetic nature of these intrinsic C defects suggested that they might play a role in the recently observed magnetism in pure C systems.

Magnetic Properties and Diffusion of Adatoms on a Graphene Sheet. P.O.Lehtinen, A.S.Foster, A.Ayuela, A.Krasheninnikov, K.Nordlund, R.M.Nieminen: Physical Review Letters, 2003, 91[1], 017202 (3pp)