Optical and mechanical properties and electron–phonon interaction in graphene doped with metal atoms

Graphene, the first experimentally realized 2D material with outstanding mechanical and electrical properties as well an excellent optical transparency, is predicted to have many applications in various scientific fields. Furthermore, there are numerous ways for modifications of pure graphene that allow precise tuning of its properties or observation of some new effects, including the applied strain, various types of controlled defects, exposure to electrical or magnetic field, or doping. It is known that graphene with alkali metal atoms adsorbed on its surface becomes superconducting with due to enhanced electron–phonon coupling. The question remains what happens with optical and mechanical properties of such structures, can we preserve or enhance these superb properties while making graphene superconducting at the same time. Here we investigate structures based on graphene doped with several metal atoms—Sr, and some transition metal atoms such are Y and Sc. Using the density functional theory, we analyze the optical and elastic properties of those structures, discussing the influence of adsorbed atoms on these properties and calculate the electron–phonon coupling related properties.