Contrasting bonding behaviors of3dtransition metal atoms with graphite andC60

Abstract
The interactions of 3d transition metal atoms with graphite and C60 molecule is investigated using tight-binding molecular-dynamics and ab initio methods. The results for vanadium and nickel confirm recent experimental deduction of the contrasting bonding behaviors between the early and the late 3d-transition metals in their interaction with graphite and C60. Furthermore, our results reveal the role of substrate relaxation and curvature in producing a striking dissimilarity in the bonding behaviors among transition metal atoms on graphite and C60.