Scanning tunneling microscopy study of a BiCl3–graphite intercalation compound Original Research Article

In the presence of chlorine gas, BiCl3 was intercalated from the gas phase into highly oriented pyrolytic graphite; second-stage compounds were obtained. The surface structure in air was determined with a scanning tunneling microscope. A long-periodical rectangular structure was observed with an a-axis of 1429 pm and a b-axis of 1841 pm. This commensurate structure fits very well with X-ray diffraction data for a superlattice in BiCl3 graphite intercalation compounds published by another group.