Efficient Synthesis of Highly Crystalline One-Dimensional CrCl3 Atomic Chains with a Spin Glass State.

Abstract

One-dimensional (1D) magnetic material systems have attracted widespread interest from researchers because of their peculiar physical properties and potential applications in spintronics devices. However, the synthesis of 1D magnetic atomic chains has seldom been investigated. Here, we developed an iodine-assisted vacuum chemical vapor-phase transport (I-VCVT) method, utilizing single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) with 1D cavities as templates, and high-quality and high-efficiency fabrication of 1D atomic chains of CrCl3 was achieved. Furthermore, the structure of CrCl3 atomic chains in the confined space of SWCNTs was analyzed in detail, and the charge transfer between the 1D atomic chains and SWCNTs was investigated through spectroscopic characterization. A comprehensive study of the dynamic magnetic properties revealed the existence of spin glass states and freezing of the 1D CrCl3 atomic chains at around 3 K, which has never been seen in bulk CrCl3. Our work established an effective strategy for the control synthesis of 1D magnetic atomic chains with promising potential applications in further magnetic-based spintronics devices.