Charge-Generated Changes in Graphite Structures

Abstract

It will be shown that a negatively charged carbon atom in a graphite sheet has an electron structure that is unusual in carbons, viz. the lone pair of electrons. This atom, similarly to the positively charged ones, is no longer able to participate in the (pi) bond network: both pop out from the sheet because of their elongated single bonds and tetrahedral structure. The lone-pair structure localizes the extra electron. Forbidden gaps open above and below the Fermi level as a consequence of the destroyed (pi) bonds. This model offers an explanation for many anomalous experimental data.