Issue 2, 2022

A multiferroic vanadium phosphide monolayer with ferromagnetic half-metallicity and topological Dirac states

Abstract

Ferroelasticity, ferromagnetism, half-metallicity, and topological Dirac states are properties highly sought in two-dimensional (2D) materials for advanced device applications. Here, we report first-principles prediction of a dynamically and thermally stable tetragonal vanadium phosphide (t-VP) monolayer that hosts all these desirable properties. This monolayer is substantially ferromagnetic with polarized spins aligned in the in-plane direction via a dpd super-exchange coupling mechanism; meanwhile, its tetragonal lattice enables an intrinsic in-plane ferroelasticity with a reversible strain of 23.4%. As a result, the ferroelasticity is strongly coupled with ferromagnetism via spinorbit coupling to enable deterministic control over the magnetocrystalline anisotropy by an applied elastic strain. More interestingly, this multiferroic t-VP monolayer possesses half-metallicity with an anisotropic, topological Dirac cone residing in the majority-spin channel. We also predict a multiferroic t-CrN monolayer, whose ferromagnetism features a high Curie temperature of up to 478 K but is weakly coupled to its in-plane ferroelasticity. These results suggest a tetragonal 2D lattice as a robust atomic-scale scaffold on the basis of which fascinating electronic and magnetic properties can be rationally created by a suitable combination of chemical elements.

Graphical abstract: A multiferroic vanadium phosphide monolayer with ferromagnetic half-metallicity and topological Dirac states

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Communication
Submitted
06 Jul 2021
Accepted
17 Nov 2021
First published
06 Dec 2021

Nanoscale Horiz., 2022,7, 192-197

A multiferroic vanadium phosphide monolayer with ferromagnetic half-metallicity and topological Dirac states

X. Xuan, M. Wu, Z. Zhang and W. Guo, Nanoscale Horiz., 2022, 7, 192 DOI: 10.1039/D1NH00353D

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