Electronic structure and magnetism in BeO nanotubes induced by boron, carbon and nitrogen impurities

Abstract

We have performed ab initio calculations to systematically investigate electronic properties and magnetism of insulating non-magnetic beryllium monoxide nanotubes induced by non-magnetic sp impurities: boron, carbon and nitrogen. We found that in the presence of these sp impurities, which replace oxygen atoms, the non-magnetic BeO NTs transform into magnetic semiconductors, which acquire magnetization caused by spin splitting of (B,C,N) 2p states located in the forbidden gap of a BeO tube. The magnetic moments of the impurities vary from 0.65 to 1.60. On the contrary, when (B,C,N) dopants substitute for Be atoms or in the presence of an oxygen vacancy, the nonmagnetic state of the BeO tubes is retained.