Abstract
Ferro-rotational (FR) materials, renowned for their distinctive material functionalities, present challenges in the growth of homo-FR crystals (i.e., single FR domain). This study explores a cost-effective approach to growing homo-FR helimagnetic RbFe(SO4)2 (RFSO) crystals by lowering the crystal growth temperature below the TFR threshold using the high-pressure hydrothermal method. Through polarized neutron diffraction experiments, it is observed that nearly 86% of RFSO crystals consist of a homo-FR domain. Notably, RFSO displays remarkable stability in the FR phase, with an exceptionally high TFR of ≈573 K. Furthermore, RFSO exhibits a chiral helical magnetic structure with switchable ferroelectric polarization below 4 K. Importantly, external electric fields can induce a single magnetic domain state and manipulate its magnetic chirality. The findings suggest that the search for new FR magnets with outstanding material properties should consider magnetic sulfates as promising candidates.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 2402048 |
| Journal | Advanced Science |
| Volume | 11 |
| Issue number | 33 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Sep 4 2024 |
Funding
J.Y. acknowledges support by DOE under Grant No. DOE: DE\u2010SC0021188. T.A.T. acknowledges support from NSF DMR\u20102313456. L.Z. acknowledges support from the AFOSR YIP grant no. FA9550\u201021\u20101\u20100065, NSF CAREER grant no. DMR\u2010174774 and Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. S.W.C. was supported by the DOE under Grant No. DOE: DE\u2010FG02\u201007ER46382. This research used resources at the High Flux Isotope Reactor, a DOE Office of Science User Facility operated by the Oak Ridge National Laboratory. DFT calculations were performed on the Lochness cluster at the NJIT and on the Carbon cluster at the Center for Nanoscale Materials, Argonne National Laboratory. Work performed at the Center for Nanoscale Materials, a U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science User Facility, was supported by the U.S. DOE, Office of Basic Energy Sciences, under Contract No. DE\u2010AC02\u201006CH11357. The following Carbon allocation numbers were used for this work: CNM 72794, CNM 75950 and CNM 82184. Single crystal X\u2010ray diffraction measurements were conducted at NSF's ChemMatCARS, Sector 15 at the Advanced Photon Source, Argonne National Laboratory is supported by the Divisions of Chemistry (CHE) and Materials Research (DMR), National Science Foundation, under grant number NSF/CHE\u2010 1834750. High\u2010temperature powder X\u2010ray diffraction measurements were conducted at beamline 28\u2010ID\u20101 of the National Synchrotron Light Source II, the National Synchrotron Light Source II, a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science User Facility operated for the DOE Office of Science by Brookhaven National Laboratory under Contract No. DE\u2010SC0012704. Any mention of commercial products is for information only; it does not imply recommendation or endorsement by NIST.
Keywords
- ferro-rotation
- helimagnet
- magnetic chirality
- multiferroic
- neutron diffraction
- single crystal growth