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Spangolite: an s = 1/2 maple leaf lattice antiferromagnet?
T Fennell1, J O Piatek, R A Stephenson
1Institut Laue Langevin, BP 156, 6, rue Jules Horowitz, 38042, Grenoble Cedex 9, France. fennell@ill.fr
Summary
Spangolite, a copper sulfate mineral, features a unique triangular lattice structure. Despite structural trimers, magnetic susceptibility reveals dominant dimerization, reducing the magnetic moment.
Area of Science:
- Mineralogy
- Solid-state Chemistry
- Magnetism
Background:
- Spangolite, Cu(6)Al(SO(4))(OH)(12)Cl·3H(2)O, is a hydrated layered copper sulfate mineral.
- Its Cu(2+) ions form a triangular lattice, approximating a maple leaf lattice.
Purpose of the Study:
- To detail the crystal structure of spangolite.
- To investigate the magnetic properties and their relation to the crystal structure.
Main Methods:
- X-ray crystallography for structural analysis.
- Magnetic susceptibility measurements at varying temperatures.
Main Results:
- The crystal structure suggests edge-linked trimers with differing exchange parameters.
- Magnetic susceptibility indicates that dimerization, not trimerization, dominates magnetic behavior.
- The observed high-temperature magnetic moment is significantly lower than theoretically predicted for six s=1/2 spins.
Conclusions:
- Spangolite exhibits complex magnetic interactions deviating from its apparent structural units.
- The interplay between crystal structure and magnetic properties in spangolite warrants further investigation.
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