Substitutional Doping of Symmetrical Small Fullerene Dimers

TL;DR

This study explores how substitutional doping with nitrogen and boron alters the magnetic, electronic, and optical properties of symmetrical small fullerene dimers, highlighting their potential in spintronics and optoelectronic applications.

Contribution

It demonstrates that doping can induce significant magnetic moments and modify electronic properties, suggesting new pathways for designing magnetic nanocarbon materials.

Findings

Doped dimers are energetically favorable for experimental synthesis.

Substitution causes a magnetic moment change of about 0.5 μB.

Doped dimers exhibit optical semiconducting behavior.

Abstract

Magnetic carbon nano-structures have potential applications in the field of spintronics as they exhibit valuable magnetic properties. Symmetrically sized small fullerene dimers are substitutional doped with nitrogen (electron rich) and boron (electron deficient) atoms to visualize the effect on their magnetic properties. Interaction energies suggests that the resultant dimer structures are energetically favourable and hence can be formed experimentally. There is significant change in the total magnetic moment of dimers of the order of 0.5 uB after the substitution of C atoms with N and B, which can also be seen in the change of density of states. The HOMO-LUMO gaps of spin up and spin down electronic states have finite energy difference which confirm their magnetic behaviour, whereas for non-magnetic doped dimers, the HOMO-LUMO gaps for spin up and down states are degenerate. The optical properties show that the dimers behave as optical semiconductors and are useful in optoelectronic devices. The induced magnetism in these dimers makes them fascinating nanocarbon magnetic materials.