Layered Metal Thiophosphite Materials: Magnetic, Electrochemical, and Electronic Properties

Beyond graphene, transitional metal dichalcogenides, and black phosphorus, there are other layered materials called metal thiophosphites (MPSx), which are recently attracting the attention of scientists. Here we present the synthesis, structural and morphological characterization, magnetic properties, electrochemical performance, and the calculated density of states of different layered metal thiophosphite materials with a general formula MPSx, and as a result of varying the metal component, we obtain CrPS4, MnPS3, FePS3, CoPS3, NiPS3, ZnPS3, CdPS3, GaPS4, SnPS3, and BiPS4. SnPS3, ZnPS3, CdPS3, GaPS4, and BiPS4 exhibit only diamagnetic behavior due to core electrons. By contrast, trisulfides with M = Mn, Fe, Co, and Ni, as well as CrPS4, are paramagnetic at high temperatures and undergo a transition to antiferromagnetic state on cooling. Within the trisulfides series the Neel temperature characterizing the transition from paramagnetic to antiferromagnetic phase increases with the increasing atomic number ...