주요메뉴 바로가기 본문 바로가기

주메뉴

IBS Conferences

First Experimental Proof of a 70 Year Old Physics Theory

- First observation of magnetic phase transition in 2D materials, as predicted by the Nobel winner Onsager in 1943 -

PARK Je-Geun, Associate Director at the Center for Correlated Electron Systems, within the Institute for Basic Science (IBS), working in collaboration with CHEONG Hyeonsik at Sogang University and PARK Cheol-Hwan at Seoul National University demonstrated the magnetic behavior of a special class of 2D materials. This is the first experimental proof to a theory proposed more than 70 years ago. The paper, describing the experiment, is published in the journal Nano Letters.

Recently, scientists all over the world are investigating the properties and applications of extremely thin 2D materials, just one-atom-thick, like graphene. Studying the properties of 2D materials in comparison with their 3D counterparts raises many thought-provoking questions; one of them concerns magnetic phase transitions.

Some materials are magnetic because of the behavior of the spins of their electrons. In simple terms, spins (spin quantum numbers, or more precisely their associated magnetic moments), are just like tiny magnets, conventionally shown as arrows. At extremely low temperatures, these spins tend to align, lowering the electrons' total energy. However, above a specific temperature that varies from material to material, spins lose their alignment and become randomly oriented. Similar to how ice loses its internal order and becomes liquid above a certain temperature; 3D magnets also lose their magnetization above a critical temperature. This is called phase transition and is an ever-present process in 3D objects.

However, what happens to 1D and 2D systems at low temperatures? Do they experience a phase transition? In other words, are we going to see a transition from solid to liquid in a chain of water molecules (1D) or in a one-atom thick sheet of water (2D)?

About one century ago, the physicist Wilhelm Lenz asked his student Ernst Ising to solve this problem for 1D systems. Ising explained it in 1925 and concluded that 1D materials do not have phase transitions. Then, Ising tried to grapple with the same question for a particular type of 2D materials. The problem turned out to be much harder. The solution came in 1943 courtesy of Lars Onsager, who received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1968. Indeed, Onsager found that the materials, which follow the Ising spin model, have a phase transition. However, despite the huge importance this theory has in the following development of the whole physics of phase transitions, it has never been tested experimentally using a real magnetic material. "The physics of 2D systems is unique and exciting. The Onsager solution is taught on every advanced statistical mechanics course. That's where I learned this problem. However, when I discovered much later that it has not been tested experimentally with a magnetic material, I thought it was a shame for experimentalists like me, so it was natural for me to look for a real material to test it," explains PARK Je-Geun.


▲ Simplified representation of the 2D magnetic phase transition.

In order to prove the Onsager model, the research team produced crystals of iron trithiohypophosphate (FePS3) with a technique called chemical vapour transport. The crystals are made of layers bound by weak interactions, known as Van der Waals interactions. Layers can be peeled off from the crystal by using scotch tape, in the same way tape can strip paint from a wall. The scientists peeled the layers until they were left with just one layer of FePS3 (2D). "We can call these materials magnetic Van der Waals materials or magnetic graphene: they are magnetic and they have easy-to-cleave Van der Waals bonds between layers. They are very rare, and their physics is still unexplored," says the professor.

While there are several methods to measure the magnetic properties of bulk 3D materials, these techniques have no practical use to measure magnetic signals coming from monolayer materials. Therefore, the team used Raman spectroscopy, a technique normally used to measure vibrations inside the material. They used vibrations as an indirect measure of magnetism, the more vibrations, the less magnetization.

Park's team and colleagues first used Raman spectroscopy on bulk 3D FePS3 material at different temperatures and then tested FePS3 2D monolayer. "The test with the bulk sample showed us that the Raman signals can be used as a kind of the fingerprint of phase transition at temperatures around 118 Kelvin, or minus 155 degrees Celsius. With this confirmation we then measured the monolayer sample and found the same patterns," points out Park. "We conclude that 3D and 2D FePS3 have the same signature of the phase transition visible in the Raman spectrum." Both in the bulk sample and the monolayer, FePS3' spins are ordered (antiferromagnetic) at very low temperatures, and become disordered (paramagnetic) above 118 degrees Kelvin. "Showing magnetic phase transition with this tour-de-force experiment is a beautiful test for the Onsager solution," concludes the physicist.

In the future, the team would like to study other 2D transition metal materials, going beyond the 2D Ising spin model.


▲ Raman spectroscopy on bulk (top, left) and 2D (top, right) FePS3 was used to calculate changes in vibration and indirectly magnetization. New peaks due to iron and magnetic ordering (P1 and P2) appear in the graph at temperatures below 118 Kelvin, the temperature below which the spins (red and blue arrows) become ordered with a zigzag pattern and the material becomes antiferromagnetic.

Letizia Diamante

Notes for editors

- References
Jae-Ung Lee, Sungmin Lee, Ji Hoon Ryoo, Soonmin Kang, Tae Yun Kim, Pilkwang Kim, Cheol-Hwan Park, Je-Geun Park, and Hyeonsik Cheong. Ising-Type Magnetic Ordering in Atomically Thin FePS3. Nano Lett. 16, 7433 (2016). DOI: 10.1021/acs.nanolett.6b03052.

- Media Contact
For further information or to request media assistance, please contact: Mr. Shi Bo Shim, Head of Department of Communications, Institute for Basic Science (+82-42-878-8189, sibo@ibs.re.kr); Ms. Carol Kim, Global Officer, Department of Communications, Institute for Basic Science (+82-42-878-8133, clitie620@ibs.re.kr) or Letizia Diamante, Science Writer and Visual Producer (+82-42-878-8260, letizia@ibs.re.kr)

- About the Institute for Basic Science (IBS)
IBS was founded in 2011 by the government of the Republic of Korea with the sole purpose of driving forward the development of basic science in South Korea It comprises a total of 50 research centers in all fields of basic science, including mathematics, physics, chemistry, life science, earth science and interdisciplinary science. IBS has launched 28 research centers as of January 2017. There are nine physics, one mathematics, six chemistry, eight life science, one earth science and three interdisciplinary research centers.

Center for Correlated Electron Systems

Publication Repository
Je Geun
Park, Je Geun 이메일 보내기 Center for Correlated Electron Systems Publications
  • [La Vanguardia] Primera prueba experimental de una teoría física de 70 años
  • [ScienceAlert] We just got the first experimental proof of a 70-year-old hypothesis of magnetism
  • [Nanotechnology Now] First experimental proof of a 70 year old physics theory: First observation of magnetic phase transition in 2-D materials, as predicted by the Nobel winner Onsager in 1943
  • [SpectroscopyNOW.com] Ising on the 2D cake: Raman in transition
  • [SpaceDaily] First experimental proof of a 70 year old physics theory
  • [NanotechWeb] Onsager's predicted magnetic phase transition in 2D materials observed at last
  • [True Viral News] We Just Got the First Experimental Proof of a 70-Year-Old Hypothesis of Magnetism
  • [Technobahn] First Experimental Proof of a 70 Year Old Physics Theory
  • [Chemeurope.com] First Experimental Proof of a 70 Year Old Physics Theory
  • [ScienceNewsline] First Experimental Proof of a 70 Year Old Physics Theory
  • [Nanowerk] First observation of magnetic phase transition in 2-D materials
  • [La Informacion.com] Primera prueba experimental de una teoría física de 70 años
  • [SIGLO XXI] Primera prueba experimental de una teoría física de 70 años
  • [Informativos Telecinco.com] Primera prueba experimental de una teoría física de 70 años
  • [EcoDiario - ElEconomista.es] Primera prueba experimental de una teoría física de 70 años
  • [Bolsamanía.com] Primera prueba experimental de una teoría física de 70 años
  • [Diario Galicia Multimedia] Primera prueba experimental de una teoría física de 70 años
  • [Cuatro.com] Primera prueba experimental de una teoría física de 70 años
  • [Interbusca] Primera prueba experimental de una teoría física de 70 años
  • [Research & Development] First Experimental Proof of a 70-Year-Old Physics Theory
  • [EurekAlert!] First experimental proof of a 70 year old physics theory
  • [Europa Press] Primera prueba experimental de una teoría física de 70 años
  • [e! Science News] First experimental proof of a 70 year old physics theory
  • [Phys.org] First experimental proof of a 70 year old physics theory
  • [Alpha Galileo] First Experimental Proof of a 70 Year Old Physics Theory
  • [World News Report] First experimental proof of a 70 year old physics theory
  • Research

    Are you satisfied with the information on this page?

    Content Manager
    Public Relations Team : Yim Ji Yeob   042-878-8173
    Last Update 2023-11-28 14:20