Tunable sliding ferroelectricity in two-dimensional van der Waals RuX2 (X = Cl, Br, and I) multiferroic layers

Two-dimensional (2D) van der Waals (vdW) materials offer vast potential for designing ferroelectrics with desired properties through simple layer stacking. Here, based on first principles, we demonstrate that the vdW layered crystals RuX2 (X = Cl, Br, and I) are a class of 2D multiferroic sliding ferroelectrics. The stacking of two magnetic RuX2 monolayers with the same orientation breaks the spatial inversion symmetry, resulting in a stable vertical polarization. In addition, the direction of polarization can be reversed through slight interlayer sliding, in which it only needs to overcome the small energy barrier of 7.16 meV. Among these layered crystals, the bilayer RuI2 not only possesses a remarkable sliding ferroelectricity of 0.49 pC/m but also exhibits stable long-range magnetic order due to its large magnetic anisotropy energy. When the RuI2 stack is increased to trilayers, the polarization significantly increases to 1.03 pC/m, which is much larger than that of its bilayer structure. Furthermore, the application of compressive strain results in a substantial increase in vertical polarization. This work provides an efficient method for designing 2D multiferroic sliding ferroelectric materials by stack engineering.