Antiferromagnetic Chromium-Doped Tin Clusters

The trend toward further miniaturization of micronano antiferromagnetic (AFM) spintronic devices has led to a strong demand for low-dimensional materials. The assembly of AFM clusters to produce such materials is a potential pathway that promotes studies on such clusters. In this work, we report on the discovery of the AFM Cr₂Sn (x = 3-20) clusters with a stepwise growth at the density functional theory (DFT) level. In comparison, the two Cr atoms tend to stay together and be buried by Sn atoms, forming endohedral structures with one Cr atom encapsulated at size 9 and finally forming a full-encapsulated structure at size 17. Each successive cluster size is composed of its predecessor with an extra Sn atom adsorbed onto the face, giving evidence of stepwise growth. All these Cr₂Sn (x = 3-20) clusters are antiferromagnets, except for the triplet-state ferrimagnetic Cr₂Sn₁₁, and all their singly negatively and positively charged ions are ferromagnets. The found stable Cr₂Sn₁₇ cluster can dimerize, yielding dimers and trimers without noticeably distorting the geometrical structure and magnetic properties of each of its constituent cluster monomers, making it possible as a building block for AFM materials.