Noncollinear Magnetic Order in Two-Dimensional NiBr2 Films Grown on Au(111)

Metal halides are a class of layered materials with promising electronic and magnetic properties persisting down to the two-dimensional limit. While most recent studies focused on the trihalide components of this family, the rather unexplored metal dihalides are also van der Waals layered systems with distinctive magnetic properties. Here we show that the dihalide NiBr2 grows epitaxially on a Au(111) substrate and exhibits semiconducting and magnetic behavior starting from a single layer. Through a combination of a low-temperature scanning-tunneling microscopy, low-energy electron diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and photoemission electron microscopy, we identify two competing layer structures of NiBr2 coexisting at the interface and a stoichiometrically pure layer-by-layer growth beyond. Interestingly, X-ray absorption spectroscopy measurements revealed a magnetically ordered state below 27 K with in-plane magnetic anisotropy and zero-remanence in the single layer of NiBr2/Au(111), which we attribute to a noncollinear magnetic structure. The combination of such two-dimensional magnetic order with the semiconducting behavior down to the 2D limit offers the attractive perspective of using these films as ultrathin crystalline barriers in tunneling junctions and low-dimensional devices.

Controlling phase transition in monolayer metal diiodides XI2(X: Fe, Co, and Ni) by carrier doping

We applied the generalized Bloch theorem to verify the ground state (most stable state) in monolayer metal diiodides 1T-XI₂(X: Fe, Co, and Ni), a family of metal dihalides, using the first-principles calculations. The ground state, which can be ferromagnetic, antiferromagnetic, or spiral state, was specified by a wavevector in the primitive unit cell. While the ground state of FeI₂is ferromagnetic, the spiral state becomes the ground state for CoI₂and NiI₂. Since the multiferroic behavior in the metal dihalide can be preserved by the spiral structure, we believe that CoI₂and NiI₂are promising multiferroic materials in the most stable state. When the lattice parameter increases, we also show that the ground state of NiI₂changes to a ferromagnetic state while others still keep their initial ground states. For the last discussion, we revealed the phase transition manipulated by the hole-electron doping due to the spin-spin competition between the ferromagnetic superexchange and the antiferromagnetic direct exchange. These results convince us that metal diiodides have many benefits for future spintronic devices.

Polymorphism in Post-Dichalcogenide Two-Dimensional Materials

Two-dimensional (2D) materials exhibit a wide range of atomic structures, compositions, and associated versatility of properties. Furthermore, for a given composition, a variety of different crystal structures (i.e., polymorphs) can be observed. Polymorphism in 2D materials presents a fertile landscape for designing novel architectures and imparting new functionalities. The objective of this Review is to identify the polymorphs of emerging 2D materials, describe their polymorph-dependent properties, and outline methods used for polymorph control. Since traditional 2D materials (e.g., graphene, hexagonal boron nitride, and transition metal dichalcogenides) have already been studied extensively, the focus here is on polymorphism in post-dichalcogenide 2D materials including group III, IV, and V elemental 2D materials, layered group III, IV, and V metal chalcogenides, and 2D transition metal halides. In addition to providing a comprehensive survey of recent experimental and theoretical literature, this Review identifies the most promising opportunities for future research including how 2D polymorph engineering can provide a pathway to materials by design.

Stability of 2D Alkaline-Earth Metal Silicides, Germanides and Stannides

By means of ab initio calculations, we have estimated stability of 2D Me[Formula: see text] ([Formula: see text], Ca, Sr, Ba and [Formula: see text], Ge, Sn) in the T and Td phases, which are similar to the ones of 2D transition metal chalcogenides, in addition to their phonon spectra. The T phase is found to be more stable for 2D Ca[Formula: see text], Sr[Formula: see text] and Ba[Formula: see text], whereas the Td phase is predicted to be the ground state for 2D Mg[Formula: see text]. We have also discussed that imaginary frequencies in the calculated phonon spectra of 2D Me[Formula: see text], which appeared in the vicinity of the [Formula: see text] point, were not necessarily associated with the dynamic instability.

Half-metals and half-semiconductors in a transition metal doped SnSe2 monolayer: a first-principles study

Recently, a new two-dimensional (2D) semiconductor SnSe₂ monolayer has been grown by molecular beam epitaxy, and weak ferromagnetic behavior above room temperature in Mn-doped SnSe₂ thin films was also observed experimentally.