Antiferromagnetism and insulator-metal transition of alkali metal-loaded sodalite

Alkali metal clusters with a single unpaired s-electron can be arranged three-dimensionally in a sodalite crystal by loading the guest alkali atoms. Na, K, and K-Rb alloy clusters are known to be Mott insulators and to exhibit antiferromagnetic ordering. The Néel temperature increases from about 50 K to about 100 K in this order. In this study, Li-Na alloy, Na-K alloy, and pure Rb samples were newly prepared and their magnetic, electrical conductivity, and optical properties were investigated, including those of previous samples. The Na-K alloy samples showed antiferromagnetic properties, which were intermediate between those of the Na and K samples. However, the Rb sample showed a non-magnetic metallic state. The shallower ionization potential in Rb is thought to cause an insulator-metal transition (Mott transition) due to weaker on-site Coulomb repulsion between electrons and larger electron transfer energy between neighboring clusters. On the other hand, the Li-Na alloy sample showed a non-magnetic insulating state. It is thought that the two electrons form a spin-singlet pair due to the strong electron-lattice interaction. In terms of electron correlations and polaron effects, the full picture of the element species dependence of the alkali metal-loaded sodalite is reviewed.