  The thermal stability of graphene/graphane nanoribbons (GGNRs) is
investigated using density functional theory. It is found that the energy
barriers for the diffusion of hydrogen atoms on the zigzag and armchair
interfaces of GGNRs are 2.86 and 3.17 eV, respectively, while the diffusion
barrier of an isolated H atom on pristine graphene was only ~0.3 eV. These
results unambiguously demonstrate that the thermal stability of GGNRs can be
enhanced significantly by increasing the hydrogen diffusion barriers through
graphene/graphane interface engineering. This may provide new insights for
viable applications of GGNRs.
