Revealing Robust Room Temperature Ferromagnetism in Gd‐Doped Few‐Layered MoS <sub>2</sub> Thin Films
2D MoS<sub>2</sub> holds great promise for spintronics, yet is limited by intrinsic diamagnetism. This study demonstrates inducing ferromagnetic behavior in MoS<sub>2</sub> films doped with 0.47% Gd, achieving an ultrahigh saturation magnetization of 454 emu/cm<sup>3</sup> in a few-layered film over 11-times higher than bulk films (40 nm). Raman spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, X-ray magnetic circular dichroism, and density functional theory (DFT) calculations reveal an interplay between Gd dopants and Mo, S vacancies (V<sub>1Mo+2S</sub>), leading to the formation of bound magnetic polarons (BMPs) that drive ferromagnetic ordering. H<sub>2</sub>S annealing and DFT calculations reveal that defect healing reduces the saturation magnetization by 83%. High sulfur migration barrier in few-layered films helps preserve BMPs, thereby sustaining ferromagnetism, whereas lower migration barriers in bulk films lead to suppression. These findings highlight the synergy between Gd doping and defect engineering in achieving ultrahigh room-temperature ferromagnetism, offering a scalable strategy for developing high-performance 2D magnetic materials for spintronic applications.
Authors
- Mayur Chaudhary (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3977-5447)
- Hsin‐Hao Chiu
- Aswin kumar Anbalagan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5511-2083)
- Yu‐Lun Chueh (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0155-9987)
- Sheng Yun Wu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2750-5431)
- Nyan‐Hwa Tai (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4755-1398)
- Kai‐Wei Chuang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0006-7287-0410)
- Fang‐Chi Hu
- Shu‐Chih Haw (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0008-9529-8204)
- Andrew L. Walter (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0002-4215-8546)
- Amr Sabbah (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4532-1732)
- Kirankumar Venkatesan Savunthari (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2367-0501)
- Ching‐Yu Chiang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3640-0474)
- Kuei‐Hsien Chen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9397-2516)
- Ashish Chhaganlal Gandhi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1900-8702)
- Li–Chyong Chen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6373-7729)
- Hsin‐Yi Tiffany Chen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9651-3200)
- Shivam Gupta (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9223-7544)
- Chih‐Hao Lee (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3898-6421)
- Ming‐Hsuan Wu
- Wen-Yuan Chan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4687-0584)
- Hong‐Ji Lin
- Nyan‐Hwa Tai
Institutions
- Northeastern University (US)
- National Taiwan University (TW)
- Southern Methodist University (US)
- Brookhaven National Laboratory (US)
- National Tsing Hua University (TW)
- National Dong Hwa University (TW)
- National Synchrotron Radiation Research Center (TW)
- Institute of Atomic and Molecular Sciences, Academia Sinica (TW)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Advanced Science
- Published
- 2025-08-29
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1002/advs.202510366
- Citations
- 3
- Primary Topic
- 2D Materials and Applications
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 1.55
Funders
- U.S. Department of Energy
- National Applied Research Laboratories
- National Tsing Hua University
- National Synchrotron Radiation Research Center
- National Science and Technology Council
- Office of Science
- Brookhaven National Laboratory