Possible Realization and Protection of Valley-Polarized Quantum Hall Effect in Mn/WS2

By using the first-principles calculations and model analyses, we found that the combination of defected tungsten disulfide monolayer and sparse manganese adsorption may give a KK` valley spin splitting up to 210 meV. This system also has a tunable magnetic anisotropy energy, a clean band gap, and an appropriate band alignment, with the Fermi level sitting right above the top of valence bands at the K-valleys. Therefore, it can be used for the realization of the valley-polarized anomalous Hall effect and for the exploration of other valley related physics without using optical methods. A protective environment can be formed by covering it with a hexagonal BN layer, without much disturbance to the benign properties of Mn/WS2.Comment: 16 pages, 4 figure

Thioglycolic acid on the gold (111) surface and Raman vibrational spectra

The interaction of thioglycolic acid with the Au(111) surface is investigaged, and it is found that at the low coverage the molecule lies down on the substrate. If the mercaptan-hydrogen atom is eliminated, the resulting SCH_2COOH molecule is randomly oriented on the surface. If the carboxylic acid group in the HSCH_2COOH molecule is deprotonated instead, the HSCH_2COO^ molecule lies down on the surface. However, when the mercaptan-hydrogen atom in the HSCH_2COO^- molecule is removed, the resulting SCH_2COO^- molecule rises up to a certain level on the substrate. The calculated Raman vibrational spectra decipher which compounds and atomic displacements contribute to the corresponding frequencies. We thus propose a consistent mechanism for the deposition of thioglycolic acid on the Au(111) surface.Comment: 18 pages, 5 figures, submitted to J. Chem. Phy

Giant topological insulator gap in graphene with 5d adatoms

Two-dimensional topological insulators (2D TIs) have been proposed as platforms for many intriguing applications, ranging from spintronics to topological quantum information processing. Realizing this potential will likely be facilitated by the discovery of new, easily manufactured materials in this class. With this goal in mind we introduce a new framework for engineering a 2D TI by hybridizing graphene with impurity bands arising from heavy adatoms possessing partially filled d-shells, in particular osmium and iridium. First principles calculations predict that the gaps generated by this means exceed 0.2 eV over a broad range of adatom coverage; moreover, tuning of the Fermi level is not required to enter the TI state. The mechanism at work is expected to be rather general and may open the door to designing new TI phases in many materials.Comment: 7 pages, 8 figure