Muons and magnets

Abstract:

Three divalent transition-metal (Co, Ni and Cu) complexes with the organic anion, 1,2,4-triazolato (tr), as a ligand molecule were prepared by means of hydrothermal syntheses and their magnetic properties were investigated by SQUID magnetometry. The Co(tr)2 and Cu(tr)2 complexes exhibit long range ordering below 8 and 30 K, respectively, while the Ni(tr)2 complex does not show any magnetic phase transition down to 1.8 K. The magnetization isotherms of Co(tr)2 and Cu(tr)2 measured at 2.0 K show hysteresis loops with the coercive fields of 0.5 and 4.7 kOe, respectively. At temperatures higher than about 50 K, the temperature dependence of the magnetic susceptibility of Co(tr)2, Ni(tr)2 and Cu(tr)2 follows the Curie-Weiss law with the Curie constants of 2.95, 0.945 and 0.420 emu K mol-1 and the Weiss temperatures of -62, -74 and -97 K, respectively. These results suggest that the magnetically ordered phases observed in Co(tr)2 and Cu(tr)2 at low temperatures come from antiferromagnetic interactions resulting in canted arrangements of magnetic moments of the transition-metal cations. We discuss here the magnetic interactions in these transition-metal complexes by referring the results of the magnetization measurements. © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Abstract:

Muon spin relaxation measurements are reported on three members of the LixMPO4 series. The magnetic properties of stoichiometric samples with M= Ni, Co, Fe were investigated at low temperature. In LiNiPO 4 we observe different forms of the muon decay asymmetry in the commensurate and incommensurate antiferromagnetic phases, accompanied by a change in the temperature dependence of the muon oscillation frequency. In LiCoPO4 the form of the muon decay asymmetry indicates that the correlation between layers decreases as the Néel temperature is approached from below. LiFePO4 shows more conventional behavior, typical for a three-dimensional antiferromagnet. Measurements on Li xFePO4 with x=0.8,0.9, and 1 show evidence for lithium diffusion below ∼250 K and muon diffusion dominating the form of the relaxation at higher temperature. The thermally activated form of the observed hopping rate suggests an activation barrier for lithium diffusion of ∼100 meV and a diffusion constant of DLi∼10-10to10 -9 cm2 s-1 at room temperature. © 2011 American Physical Society.