The two-dimensional semiconductor material molybdenum disulfide is filled with electrons (red spheres). The electron-electron interaction causes the spins of all electrons (red arrows) to align in the same direction. The exchange energy required to flip a single electron spin in the ferromagnetic state can be determined by the separation between two specific spectral lines. Credit: N. Leisgang, Harvard University, formerly Department of Physics, University of Basel/Scixel
A study has extended the scope of ferromagnetic materials to include molybdenum disulfide, showing it can exhibit similar properties to iron under certain conditions. This includes measuring the energy needed to modify its electron spins, highlighting its potential stability and usefulness.
Ferromagnetism is an important physical phenomenon that plays a key role in many technologies. It is well-known that metals such as iron, cobalt, and nickel are magnetic at room temperature because their electron spins are aligned in parallel — and it is only at very high temperatures that these materials lose their magnetic properties.
Discovering New Ferromagnetic Properties
Researchers led by Professor Richard Warburton of the Department of Physics and the Swiss Nanoscience Institute of the University of Basel have shown that molybdenum disulfide also exhibits ferromagnetic properties under certain conditions. When subjected to low temperatures and an external magnetic field, the electron spins in this material all point in the same direction.
In their latest study, published in the journal DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.133.026501
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