Half-Metallic Ferromagnetism in Transition-Metal Doped Boron Nitride Nanotubes

TL;DR

This study investigates the magnetic and electronic properties of Ni-doped boron nitride nanotubes, revealing potential for half-metallic behavior through doping, coating, or pressure, with implications for spintronic applications.

Contribution

It introduces the first detailed analysis of Ni doping effects on BN nanotubes, demonstrating pathways to achieve half-metallicity.

Findings

Doped BN nanotubes exhibit ferromagnetic metallic behavior.

Semi-half-metallic behavior can be induced by electron doping.

Half-metallicity can be achieved via coating or pressure application.

Abstract

We have studied zig-zag boron nitride (BN) nanotubes doped with the Ni hexagonal-closepacked nanowire. The doped BN nanotubes are ferromagnetic metals with substantial magnetism. Some special magnetic properties resulting from the interaction between the Ni nanowire and BN nanotubes are found. The Ni doped BN(9,0) nanotube shows semi-half-metallic behavior, which could become half-metallic after doping electrons more than 1.4 e/unit cell. The intrinsic halfmetallic behavior could be achieved by two dierent ways: one is coating the Ni nanowire with a smaller BN nanotube, i.e., BN(8,0), the other is using hydrostatic pressure to homogeneously compress the Ni doped BN(9,0) nanotube.