  We report the structural and electronic properties of an artificial
graphene/Ni(111) system obtained by the intercalation of a monoatomic layer of
Ni in graphene/Ir(111). Upon intercalation, Ni grows epitaxially on Ir(111),
resulting in a lattice mismatched graphene/Ni system. By performing Scanning
Tunneling Microscopy (STM) measurements and Density Functional Theory (DFT)
calculations, we show that the intercalated Ni layer leads to a pronounced
buckling of the graphene film. At the same time an enhanced interaction is
measured by Angle-Resolved Photo-Emission Spectroscopy (ARPES), showing a clear
transition from a nearly-undisturbed to a strongly-hybridized graphene
$\pi$-band. A comparison of the intercalation-like graphene system with flat
graphene on bulk Ni(111), and mildly corrugated graphene on Ir(111), allows to
disentangle the two key properties which lead to the observed increased
interaction, namely lattice matching and electronic interaction. Although the
latter determines the strength of the hybridization, we find an important
influence of the local carbon configuration resulting from the lattice
mismatch.
