Abstract
We report a comprehensive investigation of the lattice and magnetic structure in van der Waals antiferromagnet VBr3, characterized by a BiI3-type structure at room temperature. Neutron diffraction experiments were performed on both polycrystalline and single-crystalline VBr3 samples, revealing clear magnetic Bragg peaks emerging below the Néel temperature of TN=26.5 K. These magnetic Bragg peaks can be indexed by k=(0, 0.5, 1) in hexagonal notation. Our refinement analysis suggests that the antiferromagnetic order in VBr3 manifests as a zigzag structure. Moreover, we observed peak splitting for nuclear Bragg peaks in the HK plane below the structure transition temperature of TS=90.4 K, indicating the breaking of threefold symmetry within the ab plane.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 064403 |
| Journal | Physical Review B |
| Volume | 110 |
| Issue number | 6 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Aug 1 2024 |
Funding
This work was supported by the Key Program of the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 12234006), the Innovation Program for Quantum Science and Technology (Grant No. 2024ZD0300103), the National Key R&D Program of China (Grant No. 2022YFA1403202), and the Shanghai Municipal Science and Technology Major Project (Grant No. 2019SHZDZX01). This research used resources at the High Flux Isotope Reactor, DOE Office of Science User Facilities operated by the Oak Ridge National Laboratory.