Exploring Topological States in 2D Magnetic Materials

磁性材料构成了许多现代技术的基础，然而二维磁性材料的发现仍然是一个突出的研究挑战，可以改变科学和技术。2016年诺贝尔物理学奖授予了索利斯、霍尔丹和科斯特利茨，以表彰他们在拓扑相变和物质拓扑相方面的理论发现。特别是，通过使用拓扑学，他们展示了低维材料的物理特性与我们的三维世界完全不同。该博士项目由拓扑设计博士培训中心支持，旨在利用拓扑学的这些开创性发展来设计和表征新兴的二维磁性材料-金属有机纳米片（MONs）的新实现，其中预测低维磁相互作用会产生奇异和新颖的材料特性。基于伯明翰大学的最新进展，该项目将涉及新型磁性MONs的合成，并旨在了解它们的结构和磁性行为在接近二维极限时的演变。这项工作将包括磁性金属有机框架材料的溶液合成，它们的剥离形成二维MONs，以及它们的体结构和性质的表征。这将通过表面制造和原位表征，以及在二维极限下检测各种层状磁性材料的结构和性能所需的方法的开发来补充。该项目将把伯明翰大学的实验活动与国际同步加速器中心设施的工作结合起来。

Magnetic materials form the basis of many modern-day technologies, yet the discovery of two-dimensional magnetic materials remains an outstanding research challenge that could transform science and technology. The 2016 Nobel Prize for Physics was awarded to Thouless, Haldane and Kosterlitz for their theoretical discoveries of topological phase transitions and topological phases of matter. In particular, by using topology, they showed that the physics of low-dimensional materials is entirely different to our three-dimensional world. This PhD project, supported by the Centre for Doctoral Training in Topological Design, aims to utilise these seminal developments in topology to design and characterise novel realisations in an emerging class of 2D magnetic materials - metal-organic nanosheets (MONs) - in which low-dimensional magnetic interactions are predicted to give rise to exotic and novel materials properties. Building on recent developments at the University of Birmingham, this project will involve the synthesis of novel magnetic MONs and will aim to understand how their structural and magnetic behaviours evolve on approaching the two-dimensional limit. This work will include the solution synthesis of magnetic metal-organic framework materials, their exfoliation to form 2D MONs and the characterisation of their bulk structure and properties. This will be complemented by on-surface fabrication of MONs and in-situ characterisation, as well as the development of methods needed to detect the structure and properties of various layered magnetic materials in the 2D limit. This project will integrate experimental activity at the University of Birmingham with work done at international synchrotron central facilities.