Electronic structure and magnetic properties of substitutional transition-metal atoms in GaN nanotubes

The electronic structure and magnetic properties of the transition-metal(TM) atoms(Sc–Zn, Pt and Au) doped zigzag GaN single-walled nanotubes(NTs) are investigated using first-principles spin-polarized density functional calculations. Our results show that the bindings of all TM atoms are stable with the binding energy in the range of 6–16 eV. The Sc- and V-doped GaN NTs exhibit a nonmagnetic behavior. The GaN NTs doped with Ti, Mn, Ni, Cu and Pt are antiferromagnetic. On the contrary, the Cr-, Fe-, Co-, Zn- and Au-doped GaN NTs show the ferromagnetic characteristics. The Mn- and Codoped GaN NTs induce the largest local moment of 4μB among these TM atoms. The local magnetic moment is dominated by the contribution from the substitutional TM atom and the N atoms bonded with it.     

The spin-dependent transport properties of endohedral transition-metal-fullerene X@C66H4 (X=Fe,Co, Mn,Ni)

Inspired by recent experiments on the successful synthesis of hydrofullerene C₆₆H₄ in Tian et al. (2019) [12] with two negatively curved heptagons. Based on the density functional theory and nonequilibrium Green's function method, we report the spin-dependent transport through transition-metal-atom-encapsulated C₆₆H₄ hydrofullerene, i.e., X@C₆₆H₄(X=Fe, Co, Mn, Ni), contacted by single gold atoms via semi-infinite non-magnetic Au electrodes. It is found that, Mn- and Fe-doped systems show highly spin-polarized transmission as well as considerable magnetic moments whereas Ni-doped systems show completely spin-unpolarized transmission and nonmagnetic. Interestingly, Co-doped systems show two spin states, i.e., spin-polarized and spin-unpolarized ones. Further analysis shows that, for Mn-, Fe- and Ni-doped systems, the spin-polarized/unpolarized state is caused by the finite/(nearly-)zero magnetism of the encapsulated metal atom. While the magnetism in Co-doped systems is quenched for the top hexagonal doping case, but not for the side heptagonal doping one, which induces the spin-unpolarized/spin-polarized state. And the screening effect of electrodes on the magnetism of Co is the underlying physical mechanism. Our findings would be beneficial to the design of spintronics devices.     

Structural, electronic and magnetic properties of the 3d transition metal-doped GaN nanotubes

We have performed first-principles calculations on the structural, electronic and magnetic properties of seven different 3d transition-metal (TM) impurity (V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni and Cu) doped armchair (5,0) and zigzag (8,0) gallium nitride nanotubes (GaNNTs). The results show that there is distortion around 3d TM impurities with respect to the pristine GaNNTs for 3d TM-doped (5,5) and (8,0) GaNNTs. The change of total magnetic moment follows Hund’s rule for 3d TM-doped (5,5) and (8,0) GaNNTs, respectively. The total density of states (DOS) indicates that Cr-, Mn-, Fe- and Ni-doped (5,5) GaNNTs as well as Cr-, Mn-, Ni- and Cu-doped (8,0) GaNNTs are all half-metals with 100% spin polarization. The study suggests that such TM-doped nanotubes may be useful in spintronics and nanomagnets.     

Mn掺杂对半金属铁磁体Fe_2Si电磁特性的影响

此文用基于密度泛函理论第一性原理的贋势平面波方法,计算了Fe_2Si及Mn掺杂Fe_2Si体系的能带结构、电子态密度和磁学特性,分析了不同位置Mn掺杂对Fe_2Si电磁特性的影响,获得了纯的和不同位置Mn掺杂的Fe_2Si体系是铁磁体,自旋向上的能带结构穿过费米面表现金属特性,纯Fe_2Si的半金属隙为0.164e V;Mn掺杂在Fe1位时,自旋向下部分转变为A-M间的间接带隙半导体,体系呈现半金属特性,此时磁矩为2.00μB,是真正的半金属性铁磁体;掺杂在Fe2位时,自旋向下部分的带隙值接近于0,体系呈现金属特性;掺杂在Fe3位时,自旋向下部分转变为L-L间的直接带隙半导体,体系呈现半金属特性等有益结果 .自旋电荷密度分布图表明Mn原子的3d电子比较局域,和周围原子成键时3d电子更倾向于形成共价键.体系的半金属性和磁性主要来源于Fe-3d电子与Mn-3d电子之间的d-d交换,Si-3p电子与Fe、Mn-3d电子之间的p-d杂化.这些结果为半金属铁磁体Fe_2Si的电磁调控提供了有效的理论指导.     

Comparative study of the magnetism of SrTcO3 and Ca(Sr)MnO3

By the first-principles calculations, we studied the electronic structures and the magnetic properties of SrTcO₃ and Ca(Sr)MnO₃. We found the strikingly high Néel temperature of SrTcO₃ is mostly due to the strong Tc(4d)–O(2p) hybridizations, since the Tc-4d states are more extended than the Mn-3d states. Such Tc(4d)–O(2p) hybridizations increase the super-exchange constants, hence increased the Néel temperatures.     

Study of magnetic and optical properties of Zn_(1-x)TM_xTe(TM = Mn,Fe,Co,Ni) diluted magnetic semiconductors:First principle approach

We present structural,magnetic and optical characteristics of Zn_(1-x)TM_xTe(TM = Mn,Fe,Co,Ni and x = 6.25%),calculated through Wien2 k code,by using full potential linearized augmented plane wave(FP-LAPW) technique.The optimization of the crystal structures have been done to compare the ferromagnetic(FM) and antiferromagnetic(AFM) ground state energies,to elucidate the ferromagnetic phase stability,which further has been verified through the formation and cohesive energies.Moreover,the estimated Curie temperatures T_c have demonstrated above room temperature ferromagnetism(RTFM) in Zn_(1-x)TM_xTe(TM =Mn,Fe,Co,Ni and x= 6.25%).The calculated electronic properties have depicted that Mn- and Co-doped ZnTe behave as ferromagnetic semiconductors,while half-metallic ferromagnetic behaviors are observed in Fe- and Ni-doped ZnTe.The presence of ferromagnetism is also demonstrated to be due to both the p-d and s-d hybridizations between the host lattice cations and TM impurities.The calculated band gaps and static real dielectric constants have been observed to vary according to Penn's model.The evaluated band gaps lie in near visible and ultraviolet regions,which make these materials suitable for various important device applications in optoelectronic and spintronic.     

Investigation of n-type donor defects in Co-doped ZnO

We investigate using density functional theory (DFT) the electronic structure of (∼3%) Co-doped ZnO in the presence of native n-type donor defects such as V_O and Zn_I. In particular, we apply a pseudopotential-based self-interaction correction (pseudo-SIC) scheme as an improvement to the local spin-density approximation (LSDA). This overcomes major short comings of the LSDA in describing Co-doped ZnO. Donor+dopant pair complexes such as Co–V_O and Co–Zn_I are studied as relevant magnetic centres for long-range magnetic interactions at low-dopant concentrations. We find that complex formation is energetically favourable but the inter-complex magnetic coupling is too weak to account for room temperature ferromagnetism in ZnO:Co     

Thermodynamic and kinetic aspects on the selective surface oxidation of binary, ternary and quarternary model alloys

Segregation and selective oxidation phenomena of minor alloying elements during annealing of steel sheets lead to the formation of bare spots after hot dip galvanizing. In order to understand the influence of common alloying elements on the surface chemistry after annealing, model alloys of binary (Fe-2Si, Fe-2Mn and Fe-0.8Cr), ternary (Fe-2Mn-2Si, Fe-2Mn-0.8Cr and Fe-2Si-0.8Cr) and quarternary (Fe-2Mn-2Si-0.8Cr) systems were investigated. The specimens were annealed for 60 s at 820 °C in N₂-5% H₂ gas atmospheres with different dew points −80 and −40 °C, respectively. Surface chemistry of the annealed specimens was obtained by using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) was used to view surface morphology. At low dew point −80 °C, apart from the thermodynamical calculations such as solubility product of oxides and their critical solute concentrations, kinetics play a decisive role on the selective oxidation, i.e. oxygen competition. As expected, the amount of external selective oxidation of alloying elements are well pronounced at higher dew point −40 °C. An attempt has been made to explain the dominant process of Si and Mn on Cr-oxidation and segregation. It is observed that annealing of quarternary system at higher dew point shifts the Cr-oxidation from external to internal.     

Preparation and characterization of metal-doped carbon aerogel for supercapacitor

Carbon aerogel was prepared by polycondensation of resorcinol and formaldehyde using sodium carbonate as a catalyst with a resorcinol to catalyst ratio of 500. Co-doped carbon aerogels were then prepared by an impregnation method with a variation of cobalt content (1, 3, 5, 7, 10, and 15 wt.%), and their performance for supercapacitor electrode was investigated by measurement of specific capacitance in 1 M H₂SO₄ electrolyte at a scan rate of 10 mV/s. Among the samples prepared, 7 wt.% Co-doped carbon aerogel showed the highest capacitance (100 F/g) and stable cyclability. The enhanced capacitance of Co-doped carbon aerogel was attributed to the faradaic redox reactions of cobalt oxide. On the basis of this result, 7 wt.% Cu-, Fe-, Mn-, and Zn-doped carbon aerogels were also prepared by an impregnation method for use as a supercapacitor electrode. Among the metal-doped carbon aerogels, Mn-doped carbon aerogel showed the highest capacitance (107 F/g) while Cu- and Fe-doped carbon aerogels exhibited the most stable cyclability.     

First-principles study of electronic structure and magnetic properties of SrTi1−xMxO3 (M= Cr,Mn, Fe,Co, or Ni)

We used first-principles calculations to conduct a comparative study of the structure and the electronic and magnetic properties of SrTiO₃ doped with a transition metal (TM), namely, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, or Ni. The calculated formation energies indicate that compared with Sr, Ti can be substituted more easily by the TM ions. The band structures show that SrTi_0.875Cr_0.125O₃ and SrTi_0.875Co_0.125O₃ are half metals, SrTi_0.875Fe_0.125O₃ is a metal, and SrTi_0.875Mn_0.125O₃ is a semiconductor. The 3d TM-doped SrTiO₃ exhibits various magnetic properties, ranging from ferromagnetism (Cr-, Fe-, and Co-doped SrTiO₃) to antiferromagnetism (Mn-doped SrTiO₃) and nonmagnetism (Ni-doped SrTiO₃). The total magnetic moments are 4.0_μB, 6.23_μB, and 2.0_μB for SrTi_0.75Cr_0.25O₃, SrTi_0.75Fe_0.25O₃, and SrTi_0.75Co_0.25O₃, respectively. Room-temperature ferromagnetism can be expected in Cr-, Fe-, and Co-doped SrTiO₃, which agrees with the experimental observations. The electronic structure calculations show that the spin polarizations of the 3d states of the TM atoms are responsible for the ferromagnetism in these compounds. The magnetism of TM-doped SrTiO₃ is explained by the hybridization between the TM-3d states and the O-2p states.     

Magnetic properties of high manganese aluminium austenitic steels

Mössbauer spectroscopy and magnetic susceptibilty measurements show that the Fe-(29–40)Mn-5Al austenitic alloys undergo an antiferromagnetic transformation similar to that observed in the Fe-(30-44)Mn austenitic steels. The Néel temperature,T_N,increases as a function of the Mn content (from 331K to 376K) while aluminium additions(5%wt.) induce a sharp decrease of T_N(–100K) but a small increase of the hyperfine field at OK (from 40 to 47 kOe for 34Mn alloys).     

Magnetic hysteretic characterization of the irradiation-induced embrittlement of Fe,Fe–Cu model alloys,and reactor pressure vessel steel

Neutron irradiation is known to cause embrittlement of iron-based materials; in the nuclear industry, this effect can be detrimental for reactor pressure vessel steels. In this paper, we investigate the variations of the magnetic hysteretic behavior due to neutron irradiation, for four materials, i.e. nominally pure Fe, Fe-0.1 wt% Cu and Fe-0.3 wt%Cu model alloys, and a reactor pressure vessel steel, JRQ A533-B. Two parameters related to the magnetization loop shape, i.e. maximum relative differential permeability and peak intensity of local interaction field distribution, are measured as a function of neutron fluence. For all materials both parameters decrease with increasing fluence, due to the irradiation-induced formation of nano-size defects. This decreasing trend in magnetic parameters during embrittlement is noticeable regardless the origin of the embrittlement, which can be only Cu-precipitation (thermal aging of Fe–Cu), only matrix damage (irradiation of pure Fe), or both mechanisms (irradiation of Fe–Cu or steel). The magnetic parameters relatively change up to 40%, which indicates the potential of magnetic characterization to assess irradiation-induced material hardening and embrittlement.     

Magnetic properties of Co-doped SnO: first-principles calculations

Based on density functional theory calculations,the electronic and magnetic properties of Co-doped SnO are investigated.It is found that the spin-polarized state,with a magnetic moment of about 1.0 μ B per Co-dopant,is more favorable in energy than the non-spin-polarized state.Moreover,the origin of the ferromagnetism in Co-doped SnO is found to be the double exchange mechanism.Our results indicate that Co-doped SnO is a possible candidate of the p-type spintronics material.     

Magnetic properties of Co-doped SnO2 at different carrier concentrations

Magnetic properties of Co-doped wide-gap semiconductor SnO₂ were studied theoretically by using the PPLCAO first-principles computational scheme. Since the carrier plays an important role on magnetic properties about diluted magnetic semiconductors (DMS) materials, we discuss the origin of magnetic moments and the magnetic ordering mechanism with different carrier concentration in Co-doped SnO₂ based on calculated spin density distribution. It is found that, the RKKY interaction is dominated in the magnetic coupling in Co-doped SnO₂.     

Effects of temperature and atmosphere on the magnetic properties of Co-doped ZnO rods

Co-doped ZnO (Zn_0.95Co_0.05O) rods are fabricated by co-precipitation method at different temperatures and atmospheres. X-ray diffraction, Energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and Raman results indicate that the samples were crystalline with wurtzite structure and no metallic Co or other secondary phases were found. Raman results indicate that the Co-doped ZnO powders annealed at different temperatures have different oxygen vacancy concentrations. The oxygen vacancies play an important role in the magnetic origin for diluted magnetic semiconductors. At low oxygen vacancy concentration, room temperature ferromagnetism is presented in Co-doped ZnO rods, and the ferromagnetism increases with the increment of oxygen vacancy concentration. But at very high oxygen vacancy concentration, large paramagnetic or antiferromagnetic effects are observed in Co-doped ZnO rods due to the ferromagnetic-antiferromagnetic competition. In addition, the sample annealed in Ar gas has better magnetic properties than that annealed in air, which indicates that O₂ plays an important role. Therefore, the ferromagnetism is affected by the amounts of structural defects, which depend sensitively on atmosphere and annealing temperature.     

Effects of copper and oxygen vacancies on the ferromagnetism of Mn- and Co-doped Cu2O

The ferromagnetic properties of Mn- and Co-doped Cu₂O with copper and oxygen vacancies (V_Cu and V_O) are studied by first-principles calculations. The results indicate that Mn-doped Cu₂O has an antiferromagnetic state in the near configuration, while it has a ferromagnetic state for the far configuration. On the contrary, Co-doped Cu₂O possess a ferromagnetic state regardless of the distance between the two Co atoms. The observed ferromagnetism can be attributed to the 90° ferromagnetic super-exchange mechanism. The presence of V_O can enhance the ferromagnetism, whereas V_Cudepresses it.     

Correlations of structural, magnetic, and dielectric properties of undoped and doped CaCu3Ti4O12

The present work reports synthesis, as well as a detailed and careful characterization of structural, magnetic, and dielectric properties of differently tempered undoped and doped CaCu₃Ti₄O₁₂ (CCTO) ceramics. For this purpose, neutron and X-ray powder diffraction, SQUID measurements, and dielectric spectroscopy have been performed. Mn-, Fe-, and Ni-doped CCTO ceramics were investigated in great detail to document the influence of low-level doping with 3d metals on the antiferromagnetic structure and dielectric properties. In the light of possible magnetoelectric coupling in these doped ceramics, the dielectric measurements were also carried out in external magnetic fields up to 7 T. At low temperatures the dielectric constant shows a minor but significant dependence on the applied magnetic field. Undoped CCTO is well-known for its colossal dielectric constant in a broad frequency and temperature range. With the present extended characterization of doped as well as undoped CCTO, we want to address the question why doping with only 1% Mn or 0.5% Fe decreases the room-temperature dielectric constant of CCTO by a factor of ~100 with a concomitant reduction of the conductivity, whereas 0.5% Ni doping changes the dielectric properties only slightly. In addition, diffraction experiments and magnetic investigations were undertaken to check for possible correlations of the magnitude of the colossal dielectric constants with structural details or with magnetic properties like the magnetic ordering, the Curie-Weiss temperatures, or the paramagnetic moment. It is revealed, that while the magnetic ordering temperature and the effective moment of all investigated CCTO ceramics are rather similar, there is a dramatic influence of doping and tempering time on the Curie-Weiss constant.     

First-principle study of magnetism in Co-doped SnO2

The effects of Co dopants and oxygen vacancies on the electronic structure and magnetic properties of the Co-doped SnO₂ are studied by the first-principle calculations in full-potential linearized augmented plane wave formalism within generalized gradient approximations. The Co atoms favorably substitute on neighboring sites of the metal sublattice. Without oxygen vacancies, the Co atoms are at low spin state independent of concentration and distribution of Co atoms, and only the magnetic coupling between nearest-neighbor Co atoms is ferromagnetic through direct exchange and super-exchange interaction. Oxygen vacancies tend to locate near the Co atoms. Their presence strongly increases the local magnetic moments of Co atoms, which depend sensitively on the concentration and distribution of Co atoms. Moreover, oxygen vacancies can induce the long-range ferromagnetic coupling between well-separated Co atoms through the spin-split impurity band exchange mechanism. Thus the room temperature ferromagnetism observed experimentally in the Co-doped SnO₂ may originate from the combination of short-range direct exchange and super-exchange interaction and the long-range spin-split impurity band exchange model.     

Weakly dispersive band near the fermi level of GaMnAs due to Mn interstitials

The nature of the weakly dispersive electronic band near the Fermi level observed in photoemission experiments on the diluted magnetic semiconductor GaMnAs is investigated theoretically. The combination of experimental features appears puzzling. We show that the formation of the band is closely related to the presence of the Mn interstitial impurities. The states forming the band have predominantly minority-spin Mn-3d character. The low experimental Mn-3d intensity is explained by the low content of the interstitial Mn impurities. The features of the band are robust with respect to the calculational technique [local density approximation (LDA), LDA + U].     

Exotic electron states and tunable magneto-transport in a fractal Aharonov–Bohm interferometer

A Sierpinski gasket fractal network model is studied in respect of its electronic spectrum and magneto-transport when each ‘arm’ of the gasket is replaced by a diamond shaped Aharonov–Bohm interferometer, threaded by a uniform magnetic flux. Within the framework of a tight binding model for non-interacting, spinless electrons and a real space renormalization group method we unravel a class of extended and localized electronic states. In particular, we demonstrate the existence of extreme localization of electronic states at a special finite set of energy eigenvalues, and an infinite set of energy eigenvalues where the localization gets ‘delayed’ in space (staggered localization). These eigenstates exhibit a multitude of localization areas. The two terminal transmission coefficient and its dependence on the magnetic flux threading each basic Aharonov–Bohm interferometer is studied in details. Sharp switch on–switch off effects that can be tuned by controlling the flux from outside, are discussed. Our results are analytically exact.