The structural and magnetic properties of a glaserite-type Na2BaFe(VO4)2 compound, featuring a triangular magnetic lattice of Fe2+ (S = 2), are reported. Temperature dependent X-ray single crystal ...studies indicate that at room temperature the system adopts a trigonal P3̅m1 structure and undergoes a structural phase transition to a C2/c monoclinic phase slightly below room temperature (T s = 288 K). This structural transition involves a tilting of Fe–O–V bond angles and strongly influences the magnetic correlation within the Fe triangular lattice. The magnetic susceptibility measurements reveal a ferromagnetic transition near 7 K. Single crystal neutron diffraction confirms the structural distortion and the ferromagnetic spin ordering in Na2BaFe(VO4)2. The magnetic structure of the ordered state is modeled in the magnetic space group C2′/c′ that implies a ferromagnetic order of the a and c moment components and antiferromagnetic arrangement for the b components. Overall, the Fe magnetic moments form ferromagnetic layers that are stacked along the c-axis, where the spins point along one of the (111) facets of the FeO6 octahedron.
New BaMnPnF (Pn = As, Sb, Bi) are synthesized by stoichiometric reaction of elements with BaF₂. They crystallize in the P4/nmm space group, with the ZrCuSiAs-type structure, as indicated by X-ray ...crystallography. Electrical resistivity results indicate that Pn = As, Sb, and Bi are semiconductors with band gaps of 0.73 eV, 0.48 eV and 0.003 eV (extrinsic value), respectively. Powder neutron diffraction reveals a G-type antiferromagnetic order below T(N) = 338(1) K for Pn = As, and below T(N) = 272(1) K for Pn = Sb. Magnetic susceptibility increases with temperature above 100 K for all the materials. Density functional calculations find semiconducting antiferromagnetic compounds with strong in-plane and weaker out-of-plane exchange coupling that may result in non-Curie Weiss behavior above TN. The ordered magnetic moments are 3.65(5) μ(B)/Mn for Pn = As, and 3.66(3) μ(B)/Mn for Pn = Sb at 4 K, as refined from neutron diffraction experiments.
Crystals of ASr2V3O3(Ge4O13)Cl, A = Na, K, were synthesized from high-temperature hydrothermal brines, and their structure and magnetic properties were investigated. These materials present a unique ...combination of a salt inclusion lattice, a polar crystal structure, and isolated V4+ (S = 1/2) trimer magnetic clusters. The structures consist of a trimeric V3O13 unit based on V4+ (S = 1/2), having rigorous 3-fold symmetry with a short V–V separation of 3.325(3) Å. The trinuclear V4+ units are formed by three edge shared VO6 octahedra sharing a central μ3-oxygen atom, which also imparts a polar sense on the structure. The V3O13 units are isolated from one another by tetranuclear Ge4O13 units, which are similarly arranged in a polar fashion, providing a unique opportunity to study the magnetic behavior of this triangular d 1 system as a discrete unit. Magnetization measurements indicate spin-1/2 per V atom at high temperature, and spin-1/2 per V3 trimer at low temperature, where two V moments in each triangle are antiferromagnetically aligned and the third remains paramagnetic. The crossover between these two behaviors occurs between 20 and 100 K and is well-described by a model incorporating strong antiferromagnetic intra-trimer interactions and weak but nonzero inter-trimer interactions. More broadly, the study highlights the ability to obtain new materials with interesting structure–property relationships via chemistry involving unconventional solvents and reaction conditions.
A new series of transition metal vanadates, namely, Ba2M(VO4)2(OH) (M = V(3+), Mn(3+), and Fe(3+)), was synthesized as large single crystals hydrothermally in 5 M NaOH solution at 580 °C and 1 kbar. ...This new series of compounds is structurally reminiscent of the brackebuschite mineral type. The structure of Ba2V(VO4)2(OH) is monoclinic in space group P21/m, a = 7.8783(2) Å, b = 6.1369(1) Å, c = 9.1836(2) Å, β = 113.07(3)°, V = 408.51(2) Å(3). The other structures are similar and consist of one-dimensional trans edge-shared distorted octahedral chains running along the b-axis. The vanadate groups bridge across edges of their tetrahedra. Structural analysis of the Ba2Mn(VO4)2(OH) analogue yielded a new understanding of the Jahn-Teller effect in this structure type. Raman and infrared spectra were investigated to observe the fundamental vanadate and hydroxide vibrational modes. Single-crystal temperature-dependent magnetic studies on Ba2V(VO4)2(OH) reveal a broad feature over a wide temperature range with maximum at ∼100 K indicating that an energy gap could exist between the antiferromagnetic singlet ground state and excited triplet states, making it potentially of interest for quantum magnetism studies.
The structural and magnetic properties of a glaserite-type Na
BaFe(VO
)
compound, featuring a triangular magnetic lattice of Fe
(S = 2), are reported. Temperature dependent X-ray single crystal ...studies indicate that at room temperature the system adopts a trigonal P3̅m1 structure and undergoes a structural phase transition to a C2/c monoclinic phase slightly below room temperature (T
= 288 K). This structural transition involves a tilting of Fe-O-V bond angles and strongly influences the magnetic correlation within the Fe triangular lattice. The magnetic susceptibility measurements reveal a ferromagnetic transition near 7 K. Single crystal neutron diffraction confirms the structural distortion and the ferromagnetic spin ordering in Na
BaFe(VO
)
. The magnetic structure of the ordered state is modeled in the magnetic space group C2'/c' that implies a ferromagnetic order of the a and c moment components and antiferromagnetic arrangement for the b components. Overall, the Fe magnetic moments form ferromagnetic layers that are stacked along the c-axis, where the spins point along one of the (111) facets of the FeO
octahedron.
Lead chalcogenides have exceptional thermoelectric properties and intriguing anharmonic lattice dynamics underlying their low thermal conductivities. An ideal material for thermoelectric efficiency ...is the phonon glass-electron crystal, which drives research on strategies to scatter or localize phonons while minimally disrupting electronic-transport. Anharmonicity can potentially do both, even in perfect crystals, and simulations suggest that PbSe is anharmonic enough to support intrinsic localized modes that halt transport. Here, we experimentally observe high-temperature localization in PbSe using neutron scattering but find that localization is not limited to isolated modes - zero group velocity develops for a significant section of the transverse optic phonon on heating above a transition in the anharmonic dynamics. Arrest of the optic phonon propagation coincides with unusual sharpening of the longitudinal acoustic mode due to a loss of phase space for scattering. Our study shows how nonlinear physics beyond conventional anharmonic perturbations can fundamentally alter vibrational transport properties.
In quantum magnets, magnetic moments fluctuate heavily and are strongly entangled with each other, a fundamental distinction from classical magnetism. Here, with inelastic neutron scattering ...measurements, we probe the spin correlations of the honeycomb lattice quantum magnet YbCl
. A linear spin wave theory with a single Heisenberg interaction on the honeycomb lattice, including both transverse and longitudinal channels of the neutron response, reproduces all of the key features in the spectrum. In particular, we identify a Van Hove singularity, a clearly observable sharp feature within a continuum response. The demonstration of such a Van Hove singularity in a two-magnon continuum is important as a confirmation of broadly held notions of continua in quantum magnetism and additionally because analogous features in two-spinon continua could be used to distinguish quantum spin liquids from merely disordered systems. These results establish YbCl
as a benchmark material for quantum magnetism on the honeycomb lattice.
A new pyroxene compound, NaMnGe2O6, has been synthesized at 3 GPa and 800 °C and fully characterized by X-ray single-crystal diffraction, neutron powder diffraction, and measurements of magnetization ...and specific heat. NaMnGe2O6 crystallizes into a monoclinic C2/c structure with unit-cell parameters a = 9.859(2) Å, b = 8.7507(18) Å, c = 5.5724(11) Å, and β = 105.64(3)° at 153 K. A cooperative Jahn–Teller distortion is formed by an ordering of the longest Mn–O bonds between two neighboring octahedra along the chain direction. This feature distinguishes NaMnGe2O6 from other pyroxene compounds without Jahn–Teller active cations and suggests that the Jahn–Teller distortion competes with the intrinsic local distortion in the pyroxene structure. No orbital order–disorder transition has been found up to 750 K. Like other alkali-metal pyroxenes with S > 1/2, NaMnGe2O6 (S = 2) was found to undergo a long-range antiferromagnetic (AF) ordering at T N = 7 K due to intrachain and interchain exchange interactions. Due to the peculiar structural features and the corresponding magnetic coupling, the weak AF spin ordering gives way to a ferromagnetic-like state at a sufficiently high magnetic field. Specific-heat measurements demonstrated that a large portion of the magnetic entropy, >60%, has been removed above T N as a result of strong spin correlations within the quasi-one-dimensional Mn3+-spin chains. The Reitveld refinement of neutron powder diffraction data gives a commensurate magnetic structure defined by k = 0 0 0.5 with Mn moments aligned mainly along the c-axis with a small component along both a- and b-axes.
•La0.7Ca0.3MnO3 has coexisting ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic correlations above the magnetic ordering temperature.•Antiferromagnetic correlations persist below the magnetic ordering temperature ...but disappear deep in the ordered state.•Polarized neutron scattering confirms these correlations to be purely magnetic.
La0.7Ca0.3MnO3 (LCMO30) is a perovskite manganite with a phase transition (TC = 238 K) between a paramagnetic insulator and a ferromagnetic metal. We use single-crystal, inelastic neutron scattering to refine previous work on the low energy (ℏω < 10 meV) magnetic excitations. At 300 K the spectrum consists of a diffusive ferromagnetic component at the pseudo-cubic Brillouin zone center coexisting with a quasielastic excitation located at the pseudo-cubic Brillouin zone edge. Both components are anti-correlated with ferromagnetic long-range order, showing weakened intensity at 215 K in the ferromagnetic phase. Polarized neutron scattering shows both features to be purely magnetic in origin. This indicates the simultaneous presence of ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic correlations (located, respectively, at the zone center and zone edge) in a three-dimensional perovskite, while this coexistence had been previously observed only in a bilayer compound.
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