Floating zone growth and magnetic properties of Y2C two-dimensional electride

•First success of growth of Y2C, 2D-electride, through floating zone process.•Determination of phase relationship in Y–C system to achieve crystal growth.•Revealing the absence of ferromagnetism in hexagonal Y2C.

The floating zone method was used to obtain single crystals several mm in size of the low-temperature rhombohedral form of Y2C rather than its typical rocksalt-type cubic form. This was achieved through optimization of the chemical compositions of the starting materials with the aim of producing a two-dimensional electride material. The crystals obtained exhibited a paramagnetic temperature-dependence at 1.8–300 K, with no trace of any obvious magnetic ordering.