Doping Dy improves magnetism and electricity in hexagonal boron nitride

Dy-doped hexagonal boron nitride with a circular flaky structure and a diameter of 50 nm was prepared through high-temperature reduction reactions. The hexagonal boron nitride nanosheets (hBNNSs) exhibit both roomtemperature ferromagnetism and semiconductor conductivity properties. Doping with Dy transforms hBNNSs from insulators to magnetic semiconductors. The saturation magnetization of hBNNSs with a Dy doping content of 0.58 at.% at room temperature is 0.1405 emu/g. This suggests that the Curie temperature of Dy-doped hBNNSs is above room temperature. With increasing temperature, the current of the hBN film rises, demonstrating semiconductor conductive behavior. First-principles calculations indicate that the magnetic properties of the material primarily arise from the f-orbital electrons of the Dy element, while the electrical properties are mainly attributed to the Fermi energy level crossing of the conduction band, influenced by the f-orbital and d-orbital electrons of the Dy element.