Eu intercalation in Highly Ordered Pyrolytic Graphite (HOPG)

Recently, two-dimensional (2D) van der Waals (vdW) magnetic materials have been of significant interest. Beside the intrinsic magnetism in the 2D materials, synthesized 2D magnetic materials may provide a wider range of opportunities. To achieve this, we successfully prepared Europium (Eu) intercalated highly ordered pyrolytic graphite (HOPG) through thermal evaporation. The intercalation is evidenced by the atomic resolution scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) measurements. Observations of a shift in dI/dV spectra near the Eu intercalation site indicate the electron doping effect. Next step is to test the transport properties and seek for the magnetoresistance signal.