Strain-induced magnetism in MoS2 monolayer with defects

The strain-induced magnetism is observed in single-layer MoS2 with atomic single vacancies from density functional calculations. Calculated magnetic moment is no less than 2 μB per vacancy defect. The strain-induced band gap closure is concurrent with the occurrence of the magnetism. Possible physical mechanism of the emergence of strain-induced magnetism is illustrated. We also demonstrate the possibility to test the predicted magnetism in experiment. Our study may provide an opportunity for the design of new type of memory-switching or logic devices by using earth-rich nonmagnetic materials MoS2.