Boron and nitrogen doping induced half-metallicity in zigzag triwing graphene nanoribbons

The electronic and magnetic properties of quasi-1D zigzag triwing graphene (ZZ-TWG) ribbons with boron and nitrogen (BN) doping were investigated by means of a spin-polarized density functional theory approach. Our results showed that asymmetric BN doping can give rise to half-metallicity and suppress spin polarization of the doped wings, making the BN-doped ZZ-TWGs potential application in spintronics devices. Heavily doping can turn metallic ZZ-TWG ribbons into semiconductors. A critical ratio of BN to C and appropriate doping site (e.g., ribbons edges) are required for achieving specific electronic properties. An effective path of engineering electronic properties of ZZ-TWGs by BN doping was suggested.