Adsorption properties of chloroform molecule on graphene: Experimental and first-principles calculations

Adsorption properties of chloroform molecule (CHCl3) on graphene surface are studied experimentally and theoretically. Based on the density functional theory (DFT) calculations, effects of different adsorption configurations and different adsorption distances on the system’s conductivity properties are discussed, and the comparisons with the experimental results are made. It is found that band gap appears when the adsorption distance is 1.0 A, which is about 0.32 eV near the Fermi level. However, the band gap is nearly zero when the adsorption distance is increased to 1.5 A, so the conductivity of the system will be increased with the increasing of the adsorption distances. The density of states, the adsorption energy and the effective masses are also calculated and the analyses are consistent with the experimental results. Our results reveal that graphene could be used to build sensors or as a catalyst for molecular adsorption.