We introduce a pseudo-spin model for the argentophilic bond expected in silver-based bilayered materials arising from a spontaneous pseudo-magnetic field interacting with pseudo-spins of two unconventional Ag ions, namely $\rm Ag^{ 2+}$ and $\rm Ag^{ 1-}$ electronically distinct from (albeit energetically degenerate to) the conventional $\rm Ag^{ 1+}$ cation typically observed in monolayered materials. This model suggests the possibility of tuning the dimensionality and hence the conductor-semiconductor-insulator properties of honeycomb bilayered materials by application of external fields, analogous to driving a superconducting or Coulomb blockade system to the normal regime by critical magnetic or electric fields respectively.
Categories: cond-mat.mes-hall cond-mat.mtrl-sci