Mn2C monolayer: hydrogenation/oxygenation induced strong room-temperature ferromagnetism and potential applications

TL;DR

This study predicts that hydrogenation and oxygenation can induce strong room-temperature ferromagnetism in Mn2C monolayer, making it promising for spintronics and sensing applications.

Contribution

First-principles calculations reveal that hydrogenation/oxygenation transform Mn2C monolayer into a room-temperature ferromagnet with high magnetic moments.

Findings

Curie temperature above 290K in hydrogenated/oxygenated Mn2C

Magnetic moments up to 6 μB per unit cell

Potential for spintronic and sensing applications

Abstract

Two-dimensional ferromagnetic materials with strong ferromagnetism and high Curie temperature are significantly desired for the applications of nanoscale devices. Here, based on first-principles computations, we report hydrogenated/oxygenated Mn2C monolayer is a such material with strong room-temperature ferromagnetism. The bare Mn2C monolayer is an antiferromagnetic metal with the local magnetic moment of Mn ~ 3{\mu}B. However, the antiferromagnetic coupling of Mn atoms can transform into the ferromagnetic order under hydrogenation/oxygenation. Especially, the magnetic moments in hydrogenated/oxygenated Mn2C monolayer can be as large as 6 {\mu}B per unit cell, and the Curie temperatures are above 290K. Beside the potential applications in spintronic devices, our work suggests that Mn2C monolayer is also promising to be used in hydrogen/oxygen detection and removal devices.