Point Defects in Hexagonal SiP Monolayer: A Systematic Investigation on the Electronic and Magnetic Properties

Abstract In this work, point defects are proposed to modify the electronic and magnetic properties of SiP monolayer. Pristine monolayer is a non‐magnetic semiconductor 2D material with energy gap of 1.52(2.21) eV as predicted by PBE(HSE06) functional. Single Si vacancy (), Si+P divacancy (), and substituting one P atom by one Si atom () magnetize significantly SiP monolayer. Herein, total magnetic moments between 1.00 and 2.00 are obtained . In contrast, no magnetism is induced by single P vacancy (), substituting one Si atom by one P atom (), and exchanging pair Si‐P positions (). Moreover, significant magnetization of SiP monolayer is also achieved by doping with single Li and Cu atoms ( and ), as well as pair of Li and Cu atoms ( and ). Total magnetic moments between 0.84 and 1.42 are obtained. Interestingly, the half‐metallicity is observed in and systems. When substituting P atom, F, Cl, and Br impurities reduce significantly the SiP monolayer bandgap, preserving its non‐magnetic nature. In contrast, a total magnetic moment of 1.26 is obtained by doping with I atom. Results presented herein may introduce the defected and doped SiP systems as prospective 2D candidates for spintronic and optoelectronic applications.