Magnetism of phthalocyanine-based organometallic single porous sheet

A two-dimensional (2D) periodic Fe phthalocyanine (FePc) single-layer sheet has very recently been synthesized experimentally (Abel, M.; et al. J. Am. Chem. Soc.2011, 133, 1203), providing a novel pathway for achieving 2D atomic sheets with regularly and separately distributed transition-metal atoms for unprecedented applications. Here we present first-principles calculations based on density functional theory to investigate systematically the electronic and magnetic properties of such novel organometallics (labeled as TMPc, TM = Cr-Zn) as free-standing sheets. Among them, we found that only the 2D MnPc framework is ferromagnetic, while 2D CrPc, FePc, CoPc, and CuPc are antiferromagnetic and 2D NiPc and ZnPc are nonmagnetic. The difference in magnetic couplings for the studied systems is related to the different orbital interactions. Only MnPc displays metallic d(xz) and d(yz) orbitals that can hybridize with p electrons of Pc, which mediates the long-range ferromagnetic coupling. Monte Carlo simulations based on the Ising model suggest that the Curie temperature (T(C)) of the 2D MnPc framework is ∼150 K, which is comparable to the highest T(C) achieved experimentally, that of Mn-doped GaAs. The present study provides theoretical insight leading to a better understanding of novel phthalocyanine-based 2D structures beyond graphene and BN sheets.