Electronic and optical properties of graphite-related systems

Abstract: A systematic review is made for the AA-, AB- and ABC-stacked graphites. The generalized tight-binding model, accompanied with the effective-mass approximation and the Kubo formula, is developed to investigate electronic and optical properties in the presence/absence of a uniform magnetic field. The unusual electronic properties cover the stacking-dependent Dirac-cone structures, the significant energy widths along the stacking direction, the Landau subbands (LSs) crossing the Fermi level, the $B_0$-dependent LS energy spectra with crossings and anti-crossings, and the monolayer- or bilayer-like Landau wavefunctions. There exist the configuration-created special structures in density of states and optical spectra. Three kinds of graphites quite differ from one another in the available inter-LS excitation channels, including the number, frequency, intensity and structures of absorption peaks. The dimensional crossover presents the main similarities and differences between graphites and graphenes; furthermore, the quantum confinement enriches the magnetic quantization phenomena in carbon nanotubes and graphene nanoribbons. The cooperative/competitive relations among the interlayer atomic interactions, dimensions and magnetic quantization are responsible for the diversified essential properties. Part of theoretical predictions are consistent with the experimental measurements.