Metamagnetism and Magnetocaloric Properties in a van der Waals Antiferromagnet CrOCl

Abstract

Herein, the anisotropic magnetic properties of 2D van der Waals (vdW) insulator, chromium oxychloride (CrOCl), are presented. Temperature‐dependent bulk magnetization reveals a paramagnetic to antiferromagnetic phase transition at ≈14 K (Néel temperature, TN) while cooling. From the magnetic field‐dependent magnetization study (M–H) at low temperature, a first‐order field‐induced (at or above 40 kOe) metamagnetic transition from antiferromagnetic to ferrimagnetic state has been observed. Noticeably, switching of the easy plane (ab‐plane) of the magnetization to the c‐axis can be identified above 29 kOe. Moreover, in the vicinity of TN, under an applied magnetic field, magnetic entropy change (ΔSM) can be estimated as 4.31 J kg−1 K−1 for H//c. The results evoke further experiments on charge/spin transport properties of few‐layer CrOCl in the nanoelectronic circuit framework for understanding the connection between crystallographic deformation and metamagnetism.

Pressure-dependent distortions in quasi-two-dimensional magnetic CrOCl at low temperatures

“…A fit to the data for 4.4 p 19.8 GPa results in β c = 0.39 (5). Employing data for 4.4 p 9.8 GPa results in β c = 0.56 (8). A critical pressure of p c = 4.4(1) GPa has been obtained in both cases.…”

“…Van der Waals layered low-dimensional magnetic materials have gained considerable interest over the past years, as they have the potential to be used for novel spintronic applications and to provide magnetic properties that are susceptible to various external stimuli [1][2][3][4]. Among those materials, CrOCl has an antiferromagnetically (AFM) ordered state below T N,1bar = 13.5-14.0 K [5][6][7][8], which persists in mechanically exfoliated few-layer-thick flakes [9] and monolayers [10]. This robust AFM order can be explained by strong intralayer interactions, while the interlayer coupling across the van der Waals gap is weak (Fig.…”

“…The nuclear and magnetic phase diagram of CrOCl has been studied in dependence on temperature at 1 bar [5,6,8,9,12,23,24] and as a function of pressure at 293 K [25]. At ambient conditions CrOCl is paramagnetic with orthorhombic Pmmn symmetry [23,26,27].…”

Mechanical, magnetic and electronic properties of 2D MSX (M = Ti, V, Co and Ni, X = Br and I)

“…Specifically, under high magnetic fields, a first-order metamagnetic transition occurs, resulting in a shift from an AFM to a ferrimagnetic ground state in the bulk material. 15 Different from the bulk form, a long-range FM alignment and a bandgap of 2.38 eV are found in monolayer CrOCl. 16 Similarly, bulk VOCl is AFM stabilized, while the nanosheet is FM stabilized with the easy axis along the [010] direction.…”

“…Compared with the bulk, the 2D materials can be further manipulated by various methods, such as strain engineering, 24,25 composition modulation, 26,27 surface functionalization, 28 stacking 29 and defect engineering, 30 to achieve the ideal physical properties for targeted applications. Although numerous studies have been conducted on 2D metal oxyhalides in recent years, [13][14][15][16]22,23 research on 2D sulfide halides still remains limited. To further expand the family of 2D metal halides, we present a systematic study of 2D metal sulfide halides by varying compositions based on firstprinciples calculations.…”