A cascade of magnetic phase transitions and a 1/3-magnetization plateau in selenite-selenate Co3(SeO3)(SeO4)(OH)2 with kagomé-like Co2+ ion layer arrangements: the importance of identifying a correct spin lattice.

We prepared a new compound, Co3(SeO3)(SeO4)(OH)2, having layers in a kagomé-like arrangement of Co2+ (spin S = 3/2) ions. This phase crystallizes in the orthorhombic space group Pnma (62) with unit cell parameters a = 11.225(9) Å, b = 6.466(7) Å and c = 11.530(20) Å. Its layers, parallel to the ab-plane, are made up of Co1O5 square pyramids and Co2O6 and Co3O6 octahedra. As the temperature is lowered, Co3(SeO3)(SeO4)(OH)2 undergoes three successive magnetic transitions at 27.5, 19.4 and 8.1 K, and the magnetization of Co3(SeO3)(SeO4)(OH)2 measured at 2.4 K exhibits a 1/3-magnetization plateau between 7.8 and 19.9 T. The H-T magnetic phase diagram constructed for Co3(SeO3)(SeO4)(OH)2 from ac and dc magnetic susceptibility, specific heat and magnetization measurements contains three magnetic phases I, II and III. Phase I is antiferromagnetic, while phases II and III are ferrimagnetic and responsible for the 1/3-magnetization plateau. To interpret these complex magnetic properties, we identified the correct spin lattice for Co3(SeO3)(SeO4)(OH)2 by evaluating its intralayer and interlayer spin exchanges based on spin-polarized DFT+U calculations.

Observation of a 1/3 magnetization plateau in Pb2Cu10O4(SeO3)4Cl7 arising from (Cu2+)7 clusters of corner-sharing (Cu2+)4 tetrahedra.

A mixed-valence compound Pb2Cu10O4(SeO3)4Cl7 has a complex structure consisting of one nonmagnetic Cu+ (S = 0) ion and four nonequivalent magnetic Cu2+ (S = 1/2) ions. It exhibits antiferromagnetic ordering at TN = 10.2 K. At a temperature below TN, a sequence of spin-flop transition at Bspin-flop = 1.3 T and 1/3 plateau formation at Bspin-flip = 4.4 K is observed in the magnetization curve M(B). The 1/3 magnetization plateau persists at least up to 53.5 T. The spin exchanges of Pb2Cu10O4(SeO3)4Cl7 evaluated by performing energy-mapping analysis based on DFT+U calculations show that the magnetic properties of Pb2Cu10O4(SeO3)4Cl7 are described by the (Cu2+)7 cluster of corner-sharing (Cu2+)4 tetrahedra, and that each (Cu2+)7 cluster has a S = 3/2 spin arrangement in the ground state. The 1/3 magnetization plateau observed for Pb2Cu10O4(SeO3)4Cl7 is explained by the field-induced flip of every second (Cu2+)7 cluster within a unit cell.