Tuning Magnetic Properties of MnPSe₃ via Cu Intercalation

There has been a growing interest in magnetic van der Waals (vdW) compounds owing to their two-dimensional magnetic properties, making them particularly suited for the developing field of spintronics. One particular family of vdW compounds, transition-metal phosphorous trichalcogenides (MPX3, M = Mn, Ni, Fe, Cu, Co, etc. X = S and Se), has shown great potential in the field of magnonics. We study the magnetic nature of MnPSe₃ by doping Cu into the structure and analyzing its impact on the long-range magnetic order. Powders of Mn_1-xCu_xPSe₃ have been synthesized using the high-temperature solid-state method. Phase purity was confirmed using synchrotron powder X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), Pair Distribution Function (PDF), and Neutron Powder Diffraction (NPD). From our NPD, PDF, and XRD analysis, we find that Cu is most favorably found to be intercalated in the vdW gap of MnPSe₃, inducing a long-range magnetic order transformation as observed in magnetic susceptibility. Herein, we report magnetic susceptibility, PDF, XRD, and NPD for Mn_1-xCu_xPSe₃.