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Updated: Nov 5, 2025
Methods of Ex Situ and In Situ Investigations of Structural Transformations: The Case of Crystallization of Metallic Glasses
Published on: June 7, 2018
Crystal structure and magnetic properties of the magnetically isolated zigzag chain in KGaCu(PO4)2
Xiao-Hui Chen1, Run-Ze Guo1, Ya-Xi Huang1
1Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Advanced Materials (Xiamen University), Department of Materials Science and Engineering, College of Materials, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361005, Fujian Province, People's Republic of China. jxmi@xmu.edu.cn.
Abstract:
Magnetism of any material depends on its crystal structure. However, two isostructural compounds such as MCuMoO4(OH) (M = Na, K) can have markedly different magnetic properties. Herein, we introduce a new method to describe the linkages between the O-atoms and their bridged Cu2+ ions in order to clearly illustrate the structure-magnetic property relationships. This new method can account for magnetic differences between the two isostructural MCuMoO4(OH) and is further confirmed by the rational design and development of a new compound KGaCu(PO4)2 with different linkages. The title compound crystalized in a space group of P21/c adopts a one-dimensional (1D) magnetically isolated S = 1/2 zigzag chain composed of elongated [CuO6] octahedra via sharing alternately equatorial and skew edges. O atoms at the skew edges bridge the equatorial and axial orbitals of neighbouring Cu2+ ions (denoted EOA), while those at the equatorial edges bridge the equatorial orbitals of Cu2+ ions (EOE). The nearest-neighbour (NN) magnetic coupling of Cu2+ ions with the EOA linkage at 2.821 Å in the title compound is negligible, whereas the NN magnetic coupling of Cu2+ ions with the EOE linkage at 2.974 Å is essential. Therefore, the zigzag chain containing alternating spin-exchange dimers and no-spin-exchange ones is similar in electronic configuration to the dimerization of the quasi-one-dimensional antiferromagnet. Magnetic investigation of analogous compounds with a 'trans-cis-trans-cis' configuration observed in the title compound may shed light on structural evolutions associated with spin-Peierls (SP) transition.
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