Tailoring graphene with metals on top

We study the effects of metallic doping on the electronic properties of graphene using density functional theory in the local density approximation in the presence of a local charging energy. The electronic properties are sensitive to whether graphene is doped with alkali or transition metals. We estimate the charge transfer from a single layer of potassium on top of graphene in terms of the local charging energy of the graphene sheet. The coating of graphene with a nonmagnetic layer of palladium, on the other hand, can lead to a magnetic instability in coated graphene due to the hybridization between the transition metal and the carbon orbitals. © 2008 The American Physical Society.