Synthesis and crystal growth

Abstract:

Magnetization, magnetostriction and dielectric constant measurements are performed on single crystals of quasi-one-dimensional Ising spin chain CoNb$_{2}$O$_{6}$ at temperatures below and above the antiferromagnetic phase transition. Field-induced magnetic transitions are clearly reflected in magnetodielectric and magnetostriction data. Sharp anomalies are observed around the critical fields of antiferromagnetic to ferrimagnetic and ferrimagnetic to saturated-paramagnetic transition in both magnetodielectric and magnetostriction experiments. Detailed analysis of temperature and field dependence of dielectric constant and magnetostriction suggests that spins are coupled with lattice as well as charges in CoNb$_{2}$O$_{6}$. Below the antiferromagnetic transition temperature, the overall resemblance in anomalies, observed in various physical parameters such as magnetization, dielectric constant, magnetostriction and magnetic entropy change gives a deeper insight about the influence of spin configuration on these parameters in CoNb$_{2}$O$_{6}$.

Abstract:

We have used neutron powder diffraction to solve the magnetic structure of orthorhombic CoTi$_2$O$_5$, showing that the long-range ordered state below 26 K identified in our muon-spin rotation experiments is antiferromagnetic with propagation vector ${\bf k}=(\pm \frac{1}{2}, \frac{1}{2}, 0)$ and moment of 2.72(1)$\mu_{\rm B}$ per Co$^{2+}$ ion. This long range magnetic order is incompatible with the experimentally determined crystal structure because the imposed symmetry completely frustrates the exchange coupling. We conclude that the magnetic transition must therefore be associated with a spin Jahn-Teller effect which lowers the structural symmetry and thereby relieves the frustration. These results show that CoTi$_2$O$_5$ is a highly unusual low symmetry material exhibiting a purely spin-driven lattice distortion critical to the establishment of an ordered magnetic ground state.