Magnetic behavior and spin-lattice coupling in cleavable van der Waals layered CrCl3 crystals

Cleavable magnetic materials provide not only a means to study magnetism in the ultimate 2D limit, but also enable increased functionality for van der Waals heterostructures. Here the authors explore the layered antiferromagnet CrCl${}₃$. Thermodynamic measurements show ferromagnetic correlations develop before long-range order between the layers is established; van der Waals density functional calculations indicate strong coupling of the magnetism to the crystal lattice, and the authors demonstrate mechanical exfoliation of the bulk crystals into stable monolayer specimens. Together these results show CrCl${}₃$ to be a promising compound for studying monolayer magnetism and for integrating magnetism into heterostructures with complementary optoelectronic materials.