Quantum Effects Unleash New Magnetic Properties

A study has extended the scope of ferromagnetic materials to include molybdenum disulfide, showing it can exhibit similar properties to iron under certain conditions. This includes measuring the energy needed to modify its electron spins, highlighting its potential stability and usefulness.

Ferromagnetism is an important physical phenomenon that plays a key role in many technologies. It is well-known that metals such as iron, cobalt, and nickel are magnetic at room temperature because their electron spins are aligned in parallel — and it is only at very high temperatures that these materials lose their magnetic properties.

Discovering New Ferromagnetic Properties
Researchers led by Professor Richard Warburton of the Department of Physics and the Swiss Nanoscience Institute of the University of Basel have shown that molybdenum disulfide also exhibits ferromagnetic properties under certain conditions. When subjected to low temperatures and an external magnetic field, the electron spins in this material all point in the same direction.