Two-dimensional anisotropic Dirac materials PtN4C2 and Pt2N8C6 with quantum spin and valley Hall effects

TL;DR

This paper introduces two new 2D topological Dirac materials, PtN4C2 and Pt2N8C6, exhibiting anisotropic Dirac cones and topological quantum spin and valley Hall effects, with potential for orientation-dependent quantum devices.

Contribution

The study presents the first-principles prediction of novel anisotropic Dirac materials with topological properties, expanding the family of 2D quantum spin and valley Hall insulators.

Findings

Anisotropic Dirac cones with graphene-like electronic structure.

Sizable topological band gaps due to spin-orbit coupling.

Presence of helical edge states in the insulating gap.

Abstract

We propose two novel two-dimensional topological Dirac materials, planar PtN4C2 and Pt2N8C6, which exhibit graphene-like electronic structures with linearly dispersive Dirac-cone states exactly at the Fermi level. Moreover, the Dirac cone is anisotropic, resulting in anisotropic Fermi velocities and making it possible to realize orientation-dependent quantum devices. Using the first-principles electronic structure calculations, we have systemically studied the structural, electronic, and topological properties. We find that spin-orbit coupling opens a sizable topological band gap so that the materials can be classified as quantum spin Hall insulators as well as quantum valley Hall insulators. Helical edge states that reside in the insulating band gap connecting the bulk conduction and valence bands are observed. Our work not only expands the Dirac cone material family, but also provides a new avenue to searching for more two-dimensional topological quantum spin and valley Hall insulators.