Detecting bulk carbon ferromagnetism in graphene multi-edge structure

Chao Wang; Nan Jian; Meijie Yin; Xi Zhang; Zhi Yang; Xiuhao Mo; Takashi Kikkawa; Shunsuke Daimon; Eiji Saitoh; Qian Li; Wensheng Yan; Dazhi Hou; Lei Yang; Dongfeng Diao

arXiv · 2312.16925

Detecting bulk carbon ferromagnetism in graphene multi-edge structure

Chao Wang·Nan Jian·Meijie Yin·Xi Zhang·Zhi Yang·Xiuhao Mo·Takashi Kikkawa·Shunsuke Daimon·Eiji Saitoh·Qian Li·Wensheng Yan·Dazhi Hou·Lei Yang·Dongfeng Diao

View original source ↗Read source document ↗Export metadata ↓

Abstract

The emergence of bulk carbon ferromagnetism is long-expected over years. At nanoscale, carbon ferromagnetism was detected by analyzing the magnetic edge states via scanning tunneling microscopy(STM), and its origin can be explained by local redistribution of electron wave function. In larger scale, carbon ferromagnetism can be created by deliberately producing defects in graphite, and detected by macroscopic technical magnetization. Meanwhile, it becomes crucial to determine that the detected magnetization is originated from carbon rather than from magnetic impurities. One solution is X-ray magnetic circular dichroism (XMCD). Nonetheless, a reproducible, full section of XMCD spectrum across C-1s absorption energy has not appeared yet, which should be decisive for assuring the indisputable existence of bulk carbon ferromagnetism. Besides, the lack of direct observation on the atomic structure of the ferromagnetic carbon leaves the structural origin of its ferromagnetism still in mist. In this work, for detecting bulk carbon ferromagnetism, we managed to grow all-carbon film consisting of vertically aligned graphene multi-edge (VGME), which wove into a three-dimensional hyperfine-porous network. Magnetization (M-H) curves and XMCD spectra co-confirmed bulk carbon ferromagnetism of VGME at room temperature, with the average unit magnetic momentum of ~0.0006 miuB/atom. The influence of magnetic impurities on magnetization was excluded by both absorption spectra and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry measurements. The spin transfer behavior also verified the long-range and robust feature of the bulk carbon ferromagnetism. Our work provides direct evidence of elementary resolved bulk carbon ferromagnetism at room temperature and clarifies its origin from pi-electrons at graphene edges.

Explore related subjects

cond-mat.mtrl-sci cond-mat.mes-hall

Keep this discovery

Explore connections, maps & timelines

BibTeX RIS

Chao Wang, Nan Jian, Meijie Yin, Xi Zhang, Zhi Yang, Xiuhao Mo, Takashi Kikkawa, Shunsuke Daimon, Eiji Saitoh, Qian Li, Wensheng Yan, Dazhi Hou, Lei Yang, Dongfeng Diao. 2023-12-28. Detecting bulk carbon ferromagnetism in graphene multi-edge structure. https://arxiv.org/abs/2312.16925

Cite the original work for its findings. Save a collection to share your selection of sources.

KEEP EXPLORING

Related papers

arXiv2026

Incommensurate structural and magnetic modulations in potassium-rich cryptomelane, K$_x$Mn$_8$O$_{16}$ ($x\approx1.45$)

Cryptomelane is a hollandite-like material consisting of K$^+$ cations in an $α$-MnO$_2$ tunnel-like crystallographic motif. Cryptomelane with stoichiometry K$_x$Mn$_8$O$_{16}$ ($x\approx1.45$) has been synthesized and its magnetic properties investigated using variable-temperature magnetic susceptibility, heat capacity, and neutron powder diffraction. Three distinct transitions at $T_1=184$\,K, $T_2=54.5$\,K, and $T_3=24$\,K are observed. At $T_1$ there is a subtle tetragonal$\rightarrow$monoclinic transition associated with emergence of a set of non-magnetic superstructure peaks indexable to a $\vec{k}_\mathrm{struc}\approx0.74\vec{c^*}$ incommensurate modulation parallel to the $α$-MnO$_2$ tunnels. Our findings are consistent with a relation previously reported in titanate hollandites, that $x\approx2|\vec{k}_\mathrm{struc}|$. Magnetic Bragg peaks emerge below $T_2=54.5$\,K, and their positions indicate an incommensurate modulated magnetic structure. The model consistent with the data is a dual-$\vec{k}_\mathrm{mag}$ structure with a ferromagnetic $|\vec{k}_\mathrm{mag}|=0$ component and an incommensurate $\vec{k}_\mathrm{mag}\approx0.37\vec{c^*}$, with the latter most likely to be helical. The period of oscillation of the incommensurate magnetic component is in line with predictions based on a Heisenberg spin Hamiltonian [Mandal \textit{et al}. Phys. Rev. B 90, 104420 (2014)]. Below $T_3=24$\,K, there is a magnetic transition, which gives rise to a different set of magnetic Bragg peaks indicative of a highly complex magnetic structure.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2026

An anisotropic functional for two-dimensional material systems

Density function theory is the workhorse of modern electronic structure theory. However, its accuracy in practical calculations is limited by the choice of the exchange-correlation potential. In this respect, two-dimensional materials pose a special challenge, as all these materials and their heterostructures have a crucial similarity. The underlying atomic structures are strongly spatially inhomogeneous, implying that current exchange-correlation functionals, that in almost all cases are isotropic, are ill-prepared for an accurate description. We present an anisotropic screened-exchange potential, that remedies this problem and reproduces the band-gap of 2D materials as well as the piecewise linearity of the total energy with fractional occupation number.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2026

Thermally-driven reorientation of the Néel vector in altermagnetic MnTe

Altermagnets are novel magnetic systems that possess a spin-polarized electronic band structure without a net magnetic moment, making them promising for device applications. Hexagonal MnTe, a prototypical altermagnet, arguably exhibits the most properties consistent with theoretical predictions, including an anomalous Hall effect despite a vanishing net magnetization, and altermagnetinduced electronic band splitting. However, fundamental questions remain, including why some effects only appear significantly below the magnetic ordering temperature. Here, we resolve this discrepancy by revealing a reorientation of the Néel vector in single-crystalline MnTe. The Néel vector points 30° from the a-axis at low $T$, before aligning directly with the a-axis around $T\simeq 260$ K. We attribute this to single-ion anisotropy, which depends on temperature-dependent lattice parameters. We obtained these results using muon-spin spectroscopy, magnetization measurements, and X-ray diffraction; we show that the findings are consistent with neutron diffraction. Manipulating this effect, for example through strain, could unlock sensitive electronic detection schemes for external stimuli, paving the way for functional altermagnetic devices.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗