Mechanical and liquid phase exfoliation of cylindrite: a natural van der Waals superlattice with intrinsic magnetic interactions

Abstract

We report the isolation of thin flakes of cylindrite, a naturally occurring van der Waals superlattice, by means of mechanical and liquid phase exfoliation. We find that this material is a heavily doped p-type semiconductor with a narrow gap (<0.85 eV) with intrinsic magnetic interactions that are preserved even in the exfoliated nanosheets. Due to its environmental stability and high electrical conductivity, cylindrite can be an interesting alternative to the existing two-dimensional magnetic materials.