Theoretical investigation of Möbius strips formed from graphene

Abstract

First-principle calculations are performed on the formation of graphene Möbius strips and their shape evolution as a function of the strip width. Results show that Möbius strips formed from graphene nanoribbons with fixed length and different widths are stable. With the increase in the width, one planar triangular region appears, and finally, the strip evolves into three equilateral triangles stacked together. Physical properties such as deformation energy density, strain effects, and edge magnetism are discussed. As a result from the special topology, unlike zigzag-edged graphene nanoribbons, Möbius strips are ferromagnets with nonzero total magnetic moments observed at the edge.