Electronic and magnetism properties of two-dimensional stacked nickel hydroxides and nitrides

• Published in: Scientific reports Vol. 5; no. 1; p. 11656
• Main Authors: Wei, Xiao-Lin, Tang, Zhen-Kun, Guo, Gen-Cai, Ma, Shangyi, Liu, Li-Min
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 26.06.2015; Nature Publishing Group
• Subjects: 119/118; 639/301/119/995; 639/766/119; Electrons; Humanities and Social Sciences; Hydroxides; Magnetic properties; Magnetism; multidisciplinary; Nickel; Science
• ISSN: 2045-2322; 2045-2322
• DOI: 10.1038/srep11656

Two-dimensional (2D) layered materials receive a lot of attention because of their outstanding intrinsic properties and wide applications. In this work, the structural, electronic and magnetic properties of nickel hydroxides (Ni(OH) 2 ) and nitrides XN (X = B, Al and Ga) heterostructures are studied by first-principles calculations. The results show that the pristine monolayer Ni(OH) 2 owns no macro magnetism with antiferromagnetic (AFM) coupling between two nearest Ni atoms, the electronic structure can be modulated through the heterostructures. The Ni(OH) 2 -GaN and Ni(OH) 2 -AlN heterostructures retain the AFM coupling, while Ni(OH) 2 -BN heterostructure have a larger magnetic moment with ferromagnetic (FM) coupling. The complete electron–hole separation is found in the Ni(OH) 2 -GaN heterostructure. The tunable electronic and magnetic properties of the Ni(OH) 2 -XN heterostructures open a new door to design the spintronic devices in the 2D stacked nanostructures.