Understanding and Tuning Magnetism in van der Waals-type Metal Thiophosphates

TL;DR

This review discusses recent advances in 2D van der Waals magnetic materials, especially metal thiophosphates MPX3, highlighting their tunable magnetism and potential for spintronic applications.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive summary of magnetism tuning mechanisms in MPX3 materials through substitution and intercalation, advancing understanding of their magnetic properties.

Findings

Magnetism in MPX3 arises from transition metal ions.

Magnetic order persists from bulk to 2D limit.

Tuning methods include substitution and intercalation.

Abstract

Over the past two decades, significant progress in two-dimensional (2D) materials has invigorated research in condensed matter and material physics in low dimensions. While traditionally studied in three-dimensional systems, magnetism has now been extended to the 2D realm. Recent breakthroughs in 2D magnetism have captured substantial interest from the scientific community, owing to the stable magnetic order achievable in atomically thin layers of the van der Waals (vdW)-type layered magnetic materials. These advances offer an exciting platform for investigating related phenomena in low dimensions and hold promise for spintronic applications. Consequently, vdW magnetic materials with tunable magnetism have attracted significant attention. Specifically, antiferromagnetic metal thiophosphates MPX3 (M = transition metal, P = phosphorus, X = chalcogen) have been investigated extensively. These materials exhibit long-range magnetic orders spanning from bulk to the 2D limit. The magnetism in MPX3 arises from localized moments associated with transition metal ions, making it tunable via substitutions and intercalations. In this review, we focus on such tuning by providing a comprehensive summary of various metal- and chalcogen-substitution and intercalation studies, along with the mechanism of magnetism modulation, and a perspective on the development of this emergent material family.