Fluorination-induced half-metallicity in zigzag boron nitride nanoribbons: First-principles calculations

Using first-principles calculations, we investigate the fluorination effect on zigzag boron nitride nanoribbons (ZBNNRs). We find that the fluorination is a practical route to induce half-metallicity in ZBNNRs. When the boron edge is two-fluorine terminated and the nitrogen edge is one-fluorine terminated, the ZBNNRs are stable and become robust half metals regardless of the ribbon width. Our studies demonstrate that these fluorinated ZBNNRs have 100% spin transport polarization around the Fermi level, which leads to promising applications in spintronics and nanodevices.