Electronic and magnetic properties of 1T-HfS2 by doping transition-metal atoms

We explored the electronic and magnetic properties of 1T-HfS2 doped by transition metal (TM) atom using the first-principles calculation. We doped the transition metal atoms from the IIIB to VIB groups in nonmagnetic 1T-HfS2. Numerical results show that the pristine 1T-HfS2 is a semiconductor with indirect gaps of 1.250 eV. Magnetism can be observed for V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, and Cu doping. The polarized charges mainly arise from the localized 3d electrons of the TM atom. The strong p-d hybridization was found between the 3d orbitals of TM and 3p orbitals of S. The substituted 1T-HfS2 can be a metal, semiconductor or half-metal. Analysis of the band structure and magnetic properties indicates that TM-doped HfS2 (TM=V, Fe, Cu) are promising systems to explore two-dimensional diluted magnetic semiconductors. The formation energy calculations also indicate that it is energetically favorable and relatively easier to incorporate transition metal atom into the HfS2 under S-rich experimental conditions. In contrast, V doped HfS2 has relatively wide half-metallic gap and low formation energy. So V-doped 1T-HfS2 is ideal for spin injection, which is important for application in semiconductor spintronics. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.