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Near room-temperature ferromagnetism in air-stable two-dimensional Cr1−xTe grown by chemical vapor deposition

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Abstract

Identifying air-stable two-dimensional (2D) ferromagnetism with high Curie temperature (Tc) is highly desirable for its potential applications in next-generation spintronics. However, most of the work reported so far mainly focuses on promoting one specific key factor of 2D ferromagnetism (Tc or air stability), rather than comprehensive promotion of both of them. Herein, ultrathin Cr1−xTe crystals grown by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) show thickness-dependent Tc up to 285 K. The out-of-plane ferromagnetic order is well preserved down to atomically thin limit (2.0 nm), as evidenced by anomalous Hall effect observed in non-encapsulated samples. Besides, the CVD-grown Cr1−xTe nanosheets present excellent ambient stability, with no apparent change in surface roughness or electrical transport properties after exposure to air for months. Our work provides an alternative platform for investigation of intrinsic 2D ferromagnetism and development of innovative spintronic devices.

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Acknowledgements

J. X. W. acknowledges financial support from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 92064005) and Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences (No. BNLMS201914), and thanks S. S. D. in Tianjin Key Laboratory of Molecular Optoelectronic Sciences for her instrumental assistance on PPMS (Dynacool-9T). H. T. Y. acknowledges the support from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 91750101, 21733001, 52072168, and 51861145201), the National Key Basic Research Program of China (No. 2018YFA0306200), the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (Nos. 021314380078, 021314380104, and 021314380147) and Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Artificial Functional Materials.

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  1. Zhansheng Gao, Ming Tang, and Junwei Huang contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Tianjin Key Lab for Rare Earth Materials and Applications, Center for Rare Earth and Inorganic Functional Materials, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Nankai University, Tianjin, 300350, China

    Zhansheng Gao, Jiabiao Chen, Wei Ai, Xinyue Dong, Yifei Ma, Zheshan Zhang, Lei Zhang, Yaping Du, Jinxiong Wu & Feng Luo

  2. National Laboratory of Solid State Microstructures, College of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing, 210093, China

    Ming Tang, Junwei Huang, Linglu Wu & Hongtao Yuan

  3. Center of Quantum Materials and Devices & College of Physics, Chongqing University, Chongqing, 401331, China

    Huixia Fu

  4. Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, Beijing, 100871, China

    Jinxiong Wu

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  1. Zhansheng Gao
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Correspondence to Hongtao Yuan, Jinxiong Wu or Feng Luo.

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Gao, Z., Tang, M., Huang, J. et al. Near room-temperature ferromagnetism in air-stable two-dimensional Cr1−xTe grown by chemical vapor deposition. Nano Res. 15, 3763–3769 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-021-3909-7

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