Valence Modifications in Hygroscopic VI3 Degraded Crystals via Soft X-Ray Synchrotron Radiation

Abstract

Among van der Waals crystals, transition metal trihalide VI3 has driven attention for its magnetic and orbital properties. However, its chemical instability under ambient conditions make its exploitation challenging for technological implementation. In this context, here we show how synchrotron radiation soft X-rays partially restore stoichiometric chemical and electronic properties of VI3 crystals. By combining X-ray absorption and X-ray photoemission spectroscopies, we show as-cleaved and aged (in ultra-high vacuum conditions) chemical degradation of VI3 crystal surface, with the formation of vanadates, and its, at least partial, recovery under high-flux soft X-ray beam exposure, revealing that superficial hygroscopic contamination couples relatively weakly to the crystal surface.

References in corpus (11)

• Magnetic 2D materials and heterostructures
• Ferromagnetic van der Waals crystal VI3
• Magnetic Two-Dimensional Chromium Trihalides: A Theoretical Perspective
• Large orbital magnetic moment in VI3
• Strain tunability of perpendicular magnetic anisotropy in van der Waals ferromagnets VI3
• Magnetic order and its interplay with structure phase transition in van der Waals ferromagnet VI${}_3$
• Polaronic and Mott insulating phase of layered magnetic vanadium trihalide VCl3
• Dispersive dark excitons in van der Waals ferromagnet CrI3
• Anisotropic hybridization probed by polarization dependent x-ray absorption spectroscopy in VI3 van der Waals Mott ferromagnet
• Evidence of temperature-dependent interplay between spin and orbital moment in van der Waals ferromagnet VI3
• FAST search for circumstellar atomic hydrogen. III. Planetary nebulae at Galactic latitudes |b|>10degree