Site-dependent lattice dynamics in periodically rippled graphene on Ru(0001)

Phonon dispersion in periodically rippled graphene/Ru(0001) has been studied by high-resolution electron energy loss spectroscopy and density functional theory. We show that, in addition to the usual phonon modes of the free-standing graphene lattice, the phonon spectrum of graphene/Ru(0001) exhibits additional modes arising from the peculiar nanostructured morphology of this system. In particular, the out-of-plane optical phonon has two components at 83 and 105 meV, related to the spectral contribution arising from carbon atoms in the valleys and in the hills of the ripples, respectively.