Near-room-temperature ferromagnetic 1T Nb1−xCrxTe2 from doping-induced phase transition of 1T’ NbTe2
摘要
Magnetic transition metal dichalcogenides exhibit unique spintronic properties, making them highly promising for advanced spintronic devices. It is unpreparable 1T NbTe2, rather than the stable 1T’ phase, that has been theoretically predicted to host nontrivial topology, but its thermodynamic structural instability hinders its development in spintronic applications. Heteroatom doping is effective in not only stabilizing the 1T phase but also introducing magnetism. Herein, we synthesized a series of Nb1−xCrxTe2 (x = 0, 0.1, 0.2, 1/3, 0.4) crystals and discovered the 1T Nb2/3Cr1/3Te2 phase for the first time. Observed 1T’-to-1T structural transition occurs in NbTe2 due to the Cr doping. Thermodynamically stable Nb2/3Cr1/3Te2 is confirmed to be a 1T phase from density functional theory calculations. A notable transition from diamagnetic to ferromagnetism was found in Nb1−xCrx-Te2 with the ratio of Cr increasing. The magnetism of 1T Nb2/3Cr1/3Te2 primarily originates from localized Cr 3d electrons. This crystal achieves a Curie temperature of 254 K, surpassing most Cr-based van der Waals ferromagnets. Furthermore, 1T Nb2/3Cr1/3Te2 displays metallic behavior coexisting with the Kondo effect and a robust positive magnetoresistance (32.1% at 2 K, μ0H = 9 T). This work unveils a doping-induced phase transition mechanism and provides new layered ferromagnetic materials for spintronic devices.