Pseudo-spin model of argentophilicity in honeycomb bilayered materials

Abstract

We introduce a pseudo-spin model for the argentophilic bond expected in silver-based bilayered materials arising from a spontaneous pseudo-magnetic field interacting with pseudo-spins of two unconventional Ag ions, namely Ag2+ and Ag1− electronically distinct from (albeit energetically degenerate to) the conventional Ag1+ cation typically observed in monolayered materials. This model suggests the possibility of tuning the dimensionality and hence the conductor-semiconductor-insulator properties of honeycomb bilayered materials by application of external fields, analogous to driving a Coulomb blockade or superconducting system to the normal regime by critical electric or magnetic fields respectively.