Sorokin Pavel Borisovich

2016 — present: leading researcher at the Inorganic Nanomaterials Research Laboratory, NUST MISIS.

2015: visiting scientist, the Japan Atomic Energy Agency.

2013: visiting scientist, the Dresden University of Technology (Germany).

2012: visiting scientist, the Japan Atomic Energy Agency.

2011-2016: senior researcher, Federal State Budgetary Scientific Institution Technological Institute for Superhard and Novel Carbon Materials.

2010-2011: postdoc research associate, Rice University (USA).

2007-2010: senior lecturer, the Siberian Federal University.

2005-2007: junior researcher, the Institute of Biochemical Physics at the Russian Academy of Sciences.

L.Ya. Karpov Institute of Physical Chemistry, doctor of physics and mathematics.

P.N. Lebedev Physical Institute at the Russian Academy of Sciences, PhD in physics and mathematics.

Krasnoyarsk State University, master of physics.

Krasnoyarsk State University, bachelor of physics.

A theory of chemically induced phase transition from multilayer graphene to a new nanostructure, the ultrathin diamond film “diamane” without applying external pressure (or only at its small value), when the transition process is facilitated by functionalization of the film surfaces, was proposed and developed. This nanoscale effect is related to the direct influence of surface effects on the thermodynamics of this material formation process. This effect causes the transition pressure to be strongly dependent on the film thickness. A paper describing this effect was published in Nano Letters [10.1021/nl403938g]. The studied effect of a chemically induced phase transition was confirmed in a joint experimental-theoretical work [10.1021/jz5007912].

A further detailed consideration of the nucleation and growth of the diamond phase in multilayered graphene yielded several important extensions. For example, it was found that while in the case of bilayer graphene a cubic diamond can be formed spontaneously, films of thickness more than two layers can be transformed into a special hexagonal (lonsdaleite) diamond film. The proposed theoretical result provides important hints for an experiment on how to efficiently produce such a new material, including the values of the required pressure, the type of graphene layers stacking, and the preferable choice of reference atoms to implement the chemically induced phase transition. The work was published in the Small journal [10.1002/smll.202004782].

Another interesting result on controlled modification of 2D film properties was obtained in the following two papers, which are a successful combination of theory and experiment. In these papers, it was proposed that the properties of a 2D material can be tuned by reaction with oxygen. In a paper published in Nature Chemistry [10.1038/s41557-018-0136-2], studies at the atomic level showed that oxygen atoms spontaneously incorporate into the basal plane of single MoS2 layers during ambient exposure of films. The use of scanning tunneling microscopy revealed a slow oxygen-substitution reaction, during which individual sulfur atoms are replaced one by one by oxygen, giving rise to a solid 2D-type MoS2-xOx solution. In addition, a simple way of restoring the atomic structure of the main MoS2 surface was proposed. The determination of the nature of incorporating oxygen atoms in the MoS2 structure is of fundamental importance for gaining a further understanding of 2D properties of crystals under the ambient exposure and for setting their properties by way of controlled oxidation. Thus, it was demonstrated that oxygen substitution sites are present all over the film surface and act as single-atom reaction centers substantially increasing the catalytic activity of the entire MoS2 surface for the electrochemical H2 evolution reaction [10.1021/acsenergylett.9b01097].

The possibility of controllable tuning of 2D film properties was also demonstrated for the case of two-dimensional boron nitride. System-based theoretical studies showed that electronic and magnetic properties of h BN films of monoatomic width may vary in wide ranges via oxygen doping and functionalization. The possibility of changing magnetic properties of h BN layers via oxygen functionalization was demonstrated for the first time. These results open up a new path for the optical, electronic and magnetic engineering of the h BN 2d film. The work was published in the Advanced Materials journal [10.1002/adma.201700695].

It was demonstrated for the first time that the spin-polarization may be induced in graphene upon its subsidence on the surface of the La0.7Sr0.3MnO3 (LSMO) crystal, which is crucial for the use of this material in spintronics. We also predicted that a significant polarization of spins in graphene does not give rise to a significant modification of its zone structure. The theory demonstrated that the proximity effect is linked with indirect exchange interaction between graphene and LSMO. This result was confirmed in an experiment through the use of spectroscopy of relaxing spin-polarized atoms. This work was published in the ACS Nano journal [10.1021/acsnano.6b02424].

A successful experimental-theoretical study was continued by exploring the spin properties of graphene on yttrium iron garnet Y3Fe5O12 (YIG). In contrast to metallic LSMO, this compound exhibits semiconducting properties. For the first time we discovered the effect of induced spin polarization in such heterostructure in graphene and found that the graphene  zone is negatively spin-polarized with a large polarization degree at the temperature of 100 K.The present study highlights that by making use of the graphene/insulating magnetic oxide junctions the effective control of the carrier spin polarization in graphene-based spintronic devices may be exercised without their structural modifications, which allows avoiding gradual degradation of electronic properties. The results were published in the Advanced Functional Materials journal [10.1002/adfm.201800462].

The following work seems particularly important, in which a new heterostructure consisting of graphene on a substrate of semi-metallic Heusler alloy Co2FeSi (CFGG) was experimentally synthesized and theoretically studied. An increased value of magnetic moment at the SLG/CFGG interface was demonstrated. In combination with graphene’s advantages as a layer material with low resistance for vertical spin valves and as a long-life spin channel valve material, the properties of high volumetric spin polarization and sustainable magnetic moment at the interface make the SLG/CFGG heterostructure highly perspective as the basis for developing various graphene-based spintronic devices. The work was published in the Advanced Materials journal [10.1002/adma.201905734].

One-atom-thick 2D copper oxide clusters with an unusual square lattice were obtained and explored. It was demonstrated for the first time that the one-atom-thick film may have the structure that is different from hexagonal. STEM-EELS measurements and modeling showed that oxygen is located at the center of the square Cu lattice and thereby stabilizes its square lattice. Calculations show that 2D copper oxide is a semiconductor and that its primary state is antiferromagnetic [10.1039/C6NR06874J].

In a paper published in Nature Physics [10.1038/nphys3321] the properties of a new two-dimensional Nb3SiTe6 film were investigated. It was demonstrated both experimentally and theoretically that when the thickness of the film is reduced, there appears an effect of weak antilocalization in magnetotransport, which supports the suppression of e—ph interactions caused by quantum confinement of phonons from 3D to 2D.

Scopus Hirsch Index — 27.

Number of articles on Scopus — 140.

SPIN RSCI: 1701-5423.

ORCID: 0000-0001-5248-1799.

ResearcherID: C-9749-2011.

Scopus AuthorID: 9277558700

• Study of fabrication methods and properties of single-crystal diamond films with nanometer thickness — Research Project of Federal Target Program — 14.В37.21.1645 — 2012-2013.
• Infrastructure project “Theoretical material science of nanostructures” — program of enhancing NUST MISIS competitiveness among the leading global research and educational centers, No. К2-2015-033 — 2015-2017.
• Investigation of the properties of new 2D materials — Russian Foundation for Basic Research — 16-32-60138-mol_а_dk — 2016-2018.
• Infrastructure project “Theoretical material science of nanostructures” — program of enhancing NUST MISIS competitiveness among the leading global research and educational centers, No. К2-2017-001 — 2017-2018.
• Investigation of new classes of nanomaterials with unusual structure: films with monoatomic thickness based on the d-metals and quasi-one-dimensional van der Waals nanowires and nanoribbons of M2X3 and M2X3Y8 compositions — Russian Science Foundation — 17-72-20223 —
  2017-2020.
• Investigation of Heusler alloys and low-dimensional materials junction for application in spintronic — Russian Foundation for Basic Research 18-32-20190 —
  2019-2020.
• Infrastructure project “Search and prediction of new low-dimensional structures and investigation of their physical and chemical properties” — program of enhancing NUST MISIS competitiveness among the leading global research and educational centers, К2-2019-016 — 2019-2020.
• Investigation of the formation of new quasi-two-dimensional nanostructures at a chemically induced phase transition — Grant of the President of the Russian Federation for government support of young scientists and government support of the leading scientific schools of the Russian Federation — MD-1046.2019.2 — 2019-2020.
• Theoretical study of spin effects in new magnetic heterojunctions — Russian Foundation for Basic Research — 20-32-90049 —
  2020-2022.
• Ion-implanted two-dimensional materials for single-atom catalysis, Russian Foundation for Basic Research 20-52- 76018 ERA_t (international project ERA.Net RUS plus) — 2021-2022.
• Chemically induced phase transition in low-dimensional structures, Russian Science Foundation 21-12- 00399 — 2021- 2023.

• S.V. Erohin, Q. Ruan, P.B. Sorokin, B.I. Yakobson. Nano-thermodynamics of chemically induced graphene-diamond transformation Small 16, 47, 2004782 (2020). Link.
• S. Li, K.V. Larionov, Z.I. Popov, T. Watanabe, K. Amemiya, S. Entani, P.V. Avramov, Y. Sakuraba, H. Naramoto, P.B. Sorokin, S. Sakai Graphene/half-metallic Heusler alloy: a novel heterostructure towards high-performance graphene spintronic devices Adv. Mater. 32, 6, 1905734 (2019). Link.
• J. Pető, T. Ollár, P. Vancsó, Z.I. Popov, G.Z. Magda, T. Ollár, G. Dobrik, C. Hwang, P.B. Sorokin, L. Tapasztó Spontaneous doping of the basal plane of MoS2 single layers through oxygen substitution under ambient conditions Nature Chemistry 10, 1246–1251 (2018). Link.
• P. Vancsó, Z.I. Popov, J. Pető, T. Ollár, G. Dobrik, J.S. Pap, C. Hwang, P.B. Sorokin, L. Tapaszto Transition metal chalcogenide single-layers as an active platform for single-atom catalysis ACS Energy Letters 4, 8, 1947-1953 (2019). Link.
• Q. Weng, D.G. Kvashnin, O. Cretu, M. Zhou, C. Zhang, D.M. Tang, P.B. Sorokin, Y. Bando, D. Golberg Tuning of the optical, electronic and magnetic property of boron nitride nanosheets with oxygen doping and functionalization Adv. Mater. 29, 28, 1700695 (2017). Link.
• J. Hu, X. Liu, C.L. Yue, J.Y. Liu, H.W. Zhu, J.B. He, J. Wei, Z.Q. Mao, L.Yu. Antipina, Z.I. Popov, P.B. Sorokin, T.J. Liu, P.W. Adams, S. Radmanesh, L. Spinu, H. Ji and D. Natelson, Enhanced electron coherence in atomically thin Nb3SiTe6, Nature Physics 11, 6, 471-476 (2015). Link.
• D.M.Tang., D.G. Kvashnin, S. Najmaei, Y. Bando, K. Kimoto, P. Koskinen, P. Ajayan, B.I. Yakobson, P.B. Sorokin, J. Lou, D. Golberg, Nanomechanical cleavage of molybdenum disulphide atomic layers, Nature Communications 5, 3631 (2014). Link.
• A.G. Kvashnin, L.A. Chernozatonskii, B.I. Yakobson, P.B. Sorokin, Phase diagram of quasi-two-dimensional carbon, Nano Letters 14, 2, pp. 676-681 (2014). Link.
• P.B. Sorokin, A.G. Kvashnin, Z. Zhu, D. Tománek Spontaneous graphitization of ultrathin cubic structures: A computational study Nano Lett. 14, 12, 7126–7130 (2014). Link.
• L. Song, L. Ci, H. Lu, P.B. Sorokin, C. Jin, J. Ni, A.G. Kvashnin, D.G. Kvashnin, J. Lou, B.I. Yakobson and P.M. Ajayan, Large scale growth and characterization of atomic hexagonal boron nitride layers Nano Lett. 10, 8, 3209-3215 (2010). Link.

V.A. Prenas — Modification of nanometer-thick carbon films by heavy ion irradiation — bachelor’s degree — 2021.

K.V. Larionov — Theoretical investigation of the interface properties in carbon-based structures of various dimensions — master’s degree — 2018.

E.Yu. Pashkin — Investigation of the properties of new carbon-based compounds by atomistic modeling methods — master’s degree — 2018.

S.V. Bondarenko — Research of new piezoelectric AlN based materials — master’s degree — 2018.

A.I. Khabibrakhmanov — Theoretical study of mechanical properties of diamond-like carbon nanostructures — master’s degree — 2020.

E.V. Sukhanova — Investigation of atomic geometry features and electromechanical properties of various 1D nanostructures — master’s degree — 2020.

V.V. Zhukov — Stability study of new carbon phases based on fullerenes and diamond — master’s degree — 2021.

Pereda J.J.P. — Investigation of spin properties of compounds based on two-dimensional materials and Heusler alloys — master’s degree — 2021.

A.G. Kvashnin — First-principles investigations of structure and properties of quasi-2D nanostructures — PhD in physics and mathematics — 2016.

Yu.A. Kvashnina — Simulation of the atomic structure and physical properties of a number of allotropic forms of carbon by methods of density functional theory and empirical potentials — PhD in physics and mathematics — 2018.

S.V. Erohin — Theoretical description of the restructuring mechanisms of the atomic geometry of some two-dimensional crystals exemplified by graphene, GaN and AlN — PhD in physics and mathematics — 2021.

Member of NUST MISIS dissertation council — 01.04.07 — Condensed matter physics.

Chairman of MIPT dissertation council — 01.04.07 — Condensed matter physics.

Editor of special issue of the Nanomaterials journal “Mechanical and electrical properties of novel nanocomposites”

Scientific secretary of the conference “Trends in nanomechanics and nanoengineering”, Krasnoyarsk, 2009.