Adsorbing the magnetic superhalogen MnCl 3 to realize intriguing half-metallic and spin-gapless-semiconducting behavior in zigzag or armchair SiC nanoribbon.

By means of first-principles computations, we first propose a new and effective strategy through adsorbing the magnetic superhalogen MnCl 3 to modulate the electronic and magnetic properties of zigzag- and armchair-edged SiC nanoribbons (zSiCNR and aSiCNR, respectively). In view of its large intrinsic magnetic moment and strong electron-withdrawing ability, the adsorption of magnetic superhalogen MnCl 3 can introduce magnetism in the substrate SiCNR, and simultaneously induce the electron transfer process from SiCNR to MnCl 3 , resulting in the evident increase of electrostatic potential in the ribbon plane, like applying an electric field. As a result, the magnetic degeneracy of pristine zSiCNR can be broken and a robust ferromagnetic half-metallicity or metallicity can be observed in the modified zSiCNR systems, while a robust ferromagnetic half-metallic or spin-gapless-semiconducting behavior can be obtained in the modified aSiCNR systems. Note that both the appealing half-metallicity and spin-gapless-semiconductor behavior are key features which hold promise for future spintronic applications. Moreover, all of these new superhalogen-SiC nanosystems can possess considerably high structural stabilities. These intriguing findings will be advantageous for promoting excellent SiC-based nanomaterials in the applications of spintronics and multifunctional nanodevices in the near future.