This article reviews the basic theoretical aspects of graphene, a one-atom-thick allotrope of carbon, with unusual two-dimensional Dirac-like electronic excitations. The Dirac electrons can be controlled by application of external electric and magnetic fields, or by altering sample geometry and/or topology. The Dirac electrons behave in unusual ways in tunneling, confinement, and the integer quantum Hall effect. The electronic properties of graphene stacks are discussed and vary with stacking order and number of layers. Edge (surface) states in graphene depend on the edge termination (zigzag or armchair) and affect the physical properties of nanoribbons. Different types of disorder modify the Dirac equation leading to unusual spectroscopic and transport properties. The effects of electron-electron and electron-phonon interactions in single layer and multilayer graphene are also presented.

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The electronic properties of graphene

Dilute ferromagnetic oxides having Curie temperatures far in excess of 300 K and exceptionally large ordered moments per transition-metal cation challenge our understanding of magnetism in solids. These materials are high-k dielectrics with degenerate or thermally activated n-type semiconductivity. Conventional super-exchange or double-exchange interactions cannot produce long-range magnetic order at concentrations of magnetic cations of a few percent. We propose that ferromagnetic exchange here, and in dilute ferromagnetic nitrides, is mediated by shallow donor electrons that form bound magnetic polarons, which overlap to create a spin-split impurity band. The Curie temperature in the mean-field approximation varies as (xdelta)(1/2) where x and delta are the concentrations of magnetic cations and donors, respectively. High Curie temperatures arise only when empty minority-spin or majority-spin d states lie at the Fermi level in the impurity band. The magnetic phase diagram includes regions of semiconducting and metallic ferromagnetism, cluster paramagnetism, spin glass and canted antiferromagnetism.

Donor impurity band exchange in dilute ferromagnetic oxides.

The surface and materials science of tin oxide

Simple rules for the understanding of Heusler compounds

Recovery and reuse of expensive catalysts after catalytic reactions are important factors for sustainable process management. The aim of this Review is to highlight the progress in the formation and catalytic applications of magnetic nanoparticles and magnetic nanocomposites. Directed functionalization of the surfaces of nanosized magnetic materials is an elegant way to bridge the gap between heterogeneous and homogeneous catalysis. The introduction of magnetic nanoparticles in a variety of solid matrices allows the combination of well-known procedures for catalyst heterogenization with techniques for magnetic separation.

Magnetically Separable Nanocatalysts: Bridges between Homogeneous and Heterogeneous Catalysis

It is generally accepted that magnetic order in an insulator requires the cation to have partially filled shells of d or f electrons. Here we show that thin films of hafnium dioxide (HfO2), an insulating oxide better known as a dielectric layer for nanoscale electronic devices, can be ferromagnetic even without doping. This discovery challenges our understanding of magnetism in insulators, because neither Hf4+ nor O2- are magnetic ions and the d and f shells of the Hf4+ ion are either empty or full.

Thin films: unexpected magnetism in a dielectric oxide.

Room-temperature ferromagnetism is observed in (110) oriented ZnO films made from targets containing 5 at. % of Sc, Ti, V, Fe, Co, or Ni, but not Cr, Mn, or Cu ions. There are large moments, $2.6{\ensuremath{\mu}}_{B}$ and $0.5{\ensuremath{\mu}}_{B}/\mathrm{\text{dopant atom}}$ for Co- and Ti-containing oxides, respectively. There is also a moment of $0.3{\ensuremath{\mu}}_{B}/\mathrm{S}\mathrm{c}$. Magnetization is very anisotropic, with variations of up to a factor of 3 depending on the orientation of the applied field relative to the substrate. Results are interpreted in terms of a spin-split donor impurity-band model, which can account for ferromagnetism in insulating or conducting high-$k$ oxides with concentrations of magnetic ions that lie far below the percolation threshold. Magnetic moments are associated with two-electron defects in the films as well as unpaired electrons of the $3d$ ions.

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Anisotropic ferromagnetism in substituted zinc oxide.

Thin films grown by pulsed-laser deposition from targets of Sn0.95Fe0.05O2 are transparent ferromagnets with Curie temperature and spontaneous magnetization of 610 K and 2.2 A m2 kg−1, respectively. The 57Fe Mossbauer spectra show the iron is all high-spin Fe3+ but the films are magnetically inhomogeneous on an atomic scale, with only 23% of the iron ordering magnetically. The net ferromagnetic moment per ordered iron ion, 1.8 μB, is greater than for any simple iron oxide with superexchange interactions. Ferromagnetic coupling of ferric ions via an electron trapped in a bridging oxygen vacancy (F center) is proposed to explain the high Curie temperature.

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Ferromagnetism in Fe-doped SnO2 thin films

Thin films of ${\mathrm{HfO}}_{2}$ produced by pulsed-laser deposition on sapphire, yttria-stabilized zirconia, or silicon substrates show ferromagnetic magnetization curves with little hysteresis and extrapolated Curie temperatures far in excess of $400\phantom{\rule{0.3em}{0ex}}\mathrm{K}$. The moment does not scale with film thickness, but in terms of substrate area it is typically in the range $150--400\phantom{\rule{0.3em}{0ex}}{\ensuremath{\mu}}_{\mathrm{B}}\phantom{\rule{0.2em}{0ex}}{\mathrm{nm}}^{\ensuremath{-}2}$. The magnetization exhibits a remarkable anisotropy, which depends on texture and substrate orientation. Pure ${\mathrm{HfO}}_{2}$ powder develops a weak magnetic moment on heating in vacuum, which is eliminated on annealing in oxygen. Lattice defects are the likely source of the magnetism.

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Munuswamy Venkatesan

Papers

Donor impurity band exchange in dilute ferromagnetic oxides.

Thin films: unexpected magnetism in a dielectric oxide.

Anisotropic ferromagnetism in substituted zinc oxide.

Ferromagnetism in Fe-doped SnO2 thin films

Magnetism in hafnium dioxide