Half-metallicity in a honeycomb-kagome-lattice Mg3C2 monolayer with carrier doping

To obtain high-performance spintronic devices with high integration density, two-dimensional (2D) half-metallic materials are eagerly pursued all along. Here, we propose a stable 2D material with a honeycomb-kagome lattice, i.e., the Mg3C2 monolayer, based on first-principles calculations. This monolayer is an anti-ferromagnetic (AFM) semiconductor at its ground state. We further demonstrate that a transition from AFM semiconductor to ferromagnetic half-metal in this 2D material can be induced by carrier (electron or hole) doping. This magnetic transition can be understood by the Stoner criterion. In addition, the half-metallicity arises from the 2pz orbitals of the carbon (C) atoms for the electron-doped system, but from the C 2px and 2py orbitals for the case of hole doping. Our findings highlight a new promising material with controllable magnetic and electronic properties toward 2D spintronic applications.