Spin dynamics, electronic and thermal transport properties of two-dimensional CrPS4 single crystal

TL;DR

This study investigates the structural, magnetic, electronic, and thermal transport properties of 2D CrPS4 single crystals, revealing their semiconducting behavior, antiferromagnetic transition at 36 K, and potential for 2D magnetic semiconductors.

Contribution

The paper provides comprehensive experimental characterization of 2D CrPS4 single crystals, including magnetic exchange constants and phase diagram, highlighting their potential in 2D magnetic semiconductor applications.

Findings

CrPS4 crystallizes in a monoclinic structure.

Electrical resistivity shows semiconducting behavior with a 0.166 eV gap.

Antiferromagnetic transition occurs at 36 K.

Abstract

2-Dimensional (2D) CrPS4 single crystals have been grown by the chemical vapor transport method. The crystallographic, magnetic, electronic and thermal transport properties of the single crystals were investigated by the room-temperature X-ray diffraction, electrical resistivity \r{ho}(T), specific heat CP(T) and the electronic spin response (ESR) measurements. CrPS4 crystals crystallize into a monoclinic structure. The electrical resistivity \r{ho}(T) shows a semiconducting behavior with an energy gap Ea=0.166 eV. The antiferromagntic (AFM) transition temperature is about TN=36 K. The spin flipping induced by the applied magnetic field is observed along the c axis. The magnetic phase diagram of CrPS4 single crystal has been discussed. The extracted magnetic entropy at TN is about 10.8 J/mol K, which is consistent with the theoretical value R ln(2S + 1) for S = 3/2 of the Cr3+ ion. Based on the mean-field theory, the magnetic exchange constants J1 and Jc corresponding to the interactions of the intralayer and between layers are about 0.143 meV and -0.955 meV are obtained based on the fitting of the susceptibility above TN, which agree with the results obtained from the ESR measurements. With the help of the strain for tuning the magnetic properties, monolayer CrPS4 may be a promising candidate to explore 2D magnetic semiconductors.