Exchange interactions and frustrated magnetism in single-side hydrogenated and fluorinated graphene

Magnetism in single-side hydrogenated (C2H) and fluorinated (C2F) graphene is analyzed in terms of the Heisenberg model with parameters determined from first principles. We predict a frustrated ground state for both systems, which means the instability of collinear spin structures and sheds light on the absence of a conventional magnetic ordering in defective graphene demonstrated in recent experiments. Moreover, our findings suggest a highly correlated magnetic behavior at low temperatures offering the possibility of a spin-liquid state.