Evolution of magnetism in the single-crystal honeycomb iridates (Na 1 - X Li x) 2 Ir O 3

G. Cao, T. F. Qi, L. Li, J. Terzic, V. S. Cao, S. J. Yuan, M. Tovar, G. Murthy, R. K. Kaul

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

58 Scopus citations

Abstract

We report the successful synthesis of single crystals of the layered iridate (Na1-xLix)2IrO3, 0≤x≤0.9, and a thorough study of its structural, magnetic, thermal, and transport properties. This compound allows a controlled interpolation between Na2IrO3 and Li2IrO3, while maintaining the quantum magnetism of the honeycomb Ir4+ planes. The measured phase diagram demonstrates a suppression of the Néel temperature TN at an intermediate x, indicating that the magnetic orders in Na2IrO3 and Li2IrO3 are distinct. X-ray data show that for x≈0.7, when TN is suppressed the most, the honeycomb structure is least distorted, leading to the speculation that at this intermediate doping of the material is closest to the spin liquid that has been sought after in Na2IrO3 and Li2IrO3. By analyzing our magnetic data with a single-ion theoretical model we also show that the trigonal splitting on the Ir4+ ions changes sign from Na2IrO3 to Li2IrO3.

Original languageEnglish
Article number220414
JournalPhysical Review B - Condensed Matter and Materials Physics
Volume88
Issue number22
DOIs
StatePublished - Jan 31 2013

Funding

FundersFunder number
U.S. Department of Energy Chinese Academy of Sciences Guangzhou Municipal Science and Technology Project Oak Ridge National Laboratory Extreme Science and Engineering Discovery Environment National Science Foundation National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center National Natural Science Foundation of China0856234, 1056536, 1265162
U.S. Department of Energy Chinese Academy of Sciences Guangzhou Municipal Science and Technology Project Oak Ridge National Laboratory Extreme Science and Engineering Discovery Environment National Science Foundation National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center National Natural Science Foundation of China

    ASJC Scopus subject areas

    • Electronic, Optical and Magnetic Materials
    • Condensed Matter Physics

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