Helimagnetism in mnbi2se4 driven by spin-frustrating interactions between antiferromagnetic chains

Judith K. Clark, Chongin Pak, Huibo Cao, Michael Shatruk

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10 Scopus citations

Abstract

We report the magnetic properties and magnetic structure determination for a linear-chain antiferromagnet, MnBi2Se4 . The crystal structure of this material contains chains of edge-sharing MnSe6 octahedra separated by Bi atoms. The magnetic behavior is dominated by intrachain antiferromagnetic (AFM) interactions, as demonstrated by the negative Weiss constant of −74 K obtained by the Curie–Weiss fit of the paramagnetic susceptibility measured along the easy-axis magnetization direction. The relative shift of adjacent chains by one-half of the chain period causes spin frustration due to interchain AFM coupling, which leads to AFM ordering at TN = 15 K. Neutron diffraction studies reveal that the AFM ordered state exhibits an incommensurate helimagnetic structure with the propagation vector k = (0, 0.356, 0). The Mn moments are arranged perpendicular to the chain propagation direction (the crystallographic b axis), and the turn angle around the helix is 128 . The magnetic properties of MnBi2Se4 are discussed in comparison to other linear-chain antiferromagnets based on ternary mixed-metal halides and chalcogenides.

Original languageEnglish
Article number242
Pages (from-to)1-9
Number of pages9
JournalCrystals
Volume11
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - Mar 2021

Funding

This research was supported by the National Science Foundation (DMR-1905499). The Rigaku Synergy-S single-crystal X-ray diffractometer used for crystallographic work was acquired through the NSF MRI program (award CHE-1828362). J.K.C. acknowledges the support from the DOE Office of Science Graduate Student Research (SCGSR) Fellowship. Acknowledgments: The neutron diffraction experiments used resources at the High Flux Isotope Reactor, U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science User Facility operated by the Oak Ridge National Laboratory. This research also used resources provided by the X-ray Crystallography Center (FSU075000XRAY) and the Materials Characterization Laboratory (FSU075000MAC) at the FSU Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry.

FundersFunder number
DOE Office of Science Graduate Student Research
FSU Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry
SCGSR
X-ray Crystallography CenterFSU075000XRAY
National Science FoundationCHE-1828362, DMR-1905499
U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Science
Oak Ridge National Laboratory

    Keywords

    • Helimagnet
    • Magnetic structure
    • Neutron diffraction
    • Spin frustration

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