English

Stoichiometry-Controlled Structural Order and Tunable Antiferromagnetism in $\mathrm{Fe}_{x}\mathrm{NbSe_2}$ ($0.05 \le x \le 0.38$)

Materials Science 2026-04-15 v2

Abstract

Transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) enable magnetic property engineering via intercalation, but stoichiometry-structure-magnetism correlations remain poorly defined for Fe-intercalated NbSe2\mathrm{NbSe_2}. Here, we report a systematic study of FexNbSe2\mathrm{Fe}_{x}\mathrm{NbSe_2} across an extended composition range 0.05x0.380.05 \le x \le 0.38, synthesized via chemical vapor transport and verified by rigorous energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDS) microanalysis. X-ray diffraction, magnetic, and transport measurements reveal an intrinsic correlation between Fe content, structural ordering, and magnetic ground states. With increasing xx, the system undergoes a successive transition from paramagnetism to a spin-glass state, then to long-range antiferromagnetism (AFM), and ultimately to a reentrant spin-glass phase, with the transition temperatures exhibiting a nonmonotonic dependence on Fe content. The maximum N\'eel temperature (TNT_{\mathrm{N}} = 175K\mathrm{175K}) and strongest AFM coupling occur at x=0.25x=0.25, where Fe atoms form a well-ordered 2a0×2a02a_0 \times 2a_0 superlattice within van der Waals gaps. Beyond x=0.25x = 0.25, the superlattice transforms or disorders, weakening Ruderman-Kittel-Kasuya-Yosida (RKKY) interactions and significantly reducing TNT_{\mathrm{N}}. Electrical transport exhibits distinct anomalies at magnetic transition temperatures, corroborating the magnetic state evolution. Our work extends the compositional boundary of Fe-intercalated NbSe2\mathrm{NbSe_2}, establishes precise stoichiometry-structure-magnetism correlations, and identifies structural ordering as a key tuning parameter for AFM. These findings provide a quantitative framework for engineering altermagnetic or switchable antiferromagnetic states in van der Waals materials.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2512.18993,
  title  = {Stoichiometry-Controlled Structural Order and Tunable Antiferromagnetism in $\mathrm{Fe}_{x}\mathrm{NbSe_2}$ ($0.05 \le x \le 0.38$)},
  author = {Xiaotong Xu and Bei Jiang and Runze Wang and Zhibin Qiu and Shu Guo and Baiqing Lv and Ruidan Zhong},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2512.18993},
  year   = {2026}
}