ABSTRACT
On one hand electron or hole doping of quantum spin liquid (QSL) may unlock high-temperature superconductivity and on the other hand it can disrupt the spin liquidity, giving rise to a magnetically ordered ground state. Recently, a 2D MOF, Cu3 (HHTP)2 (HHTP - 2,3,6,7,10,11-hexahydroxytriphenylene), containing Cu(II) S= 1 / 2 ${{ 1/2 }}$ frustrated spins in the Kagome lattice is emerging as a promising QSL candidate. Herein, we present an elegant inâ situ redox-chemistry strategy of anchoring Cu3 (HHTP)2 crystallites onto diamagnetic reduced graphene oxide (rGO) sheets, resulting in the formation of electron-doped Cu3 (HHTP)2 -rGO composite which exhibited a characteristic semiconducting behavior (5â K to 300â K) with high electrical conductivity of 70â S â m-1 and a carrier density of ~1.1×1018 â cm-3 at 300â K. Remarkably, no magnetic transition in the Cu3 (HHTP)2 -rGO composite was observed down to 1.5â K endorsing the robust spin liquidity of the 2D MOF Cu3 (HHTP)2 . Specific heat capacity measurements led to the estimation of the residual entropy values of 28 % and 34 % of the theoretically expected value for the pristine Cu3 (HHTP)2 and Cu3 (HHTP)2 -rGO composite, establishing the presence of strong quantum fluctuations down to 1.5â K (two times smaller than the value of the exchange interaction J).
ABSTRACT
The ternary phase with the composition Ni3InSb has been synthesized by high-temperature synthesis and structurally characterized by a combination of X-ray analysis, neutron diffraction analysis, and theoretical calculations. The structure of Ni3InSb crystallizes in the orthorhombic space group Pnma with lattice constants a = 7.111(3) Å, b = 5.193(3) Å, and c = 8.2113(2) Å. The crystal structure contains â¼20 atoms in its unit cell, which are distributed over four crystallographically independent positions (two Ni, one In, and one Sb). The crystal structure can be considered as a ternary substitutional variant of Ni3Sn2 (Pnma, no. 62), where a trivalent In and a pentavalent Sb orderly occupy two tetravalent Sn sites of Ni3Sn2. This site decoration pattern of two neighboring elements, In and Sb, is unique and confirmed by first principles total energy calculations. The crystal structure can be described by two building units: Ni2Sb (building unit of Ni2In) and NiIn (NiAs-type). They alternate in the crystal structure and form infinite ac-slabs (puckered), and the slabs are stacked along [010]. A triangular lattice formed by Ni atoms indicates the existence of a geometrically frustrated structure. The calculated density of states and crystal orbital Hamilton population enlighten the stability and bonding characteristics of the structure. The temperature-dependent neutron diffraction study down to 5 K reveals that the crystal structure remains in the same orthorhombic symmetry with a weak anomaly in the lattice parameters at â¼100 K. Detailed temperature- and magnetic field-dependent magnetic properties of the title phase Ni3InSb show spin-glass- or spin-disorder-like behaviors below â¼300 K with an unusual magnetic behavior below 100 K, where an enhancement of magnetization with a decrease of the coercive field has been found.
ABSTRACT
Core-shell Prussian blue analogue molecular magnet Mn1.5[Cr(CN)6]·mH2O@Ni1.5[Cr(CN)6]·nH2O has been synthesized using a core of Mn1.5[Cr(CN)6]·7.5H2O, surrounded by a shell of Ni1.5[Cr(CN)6]·7.5H2O compound. A transmission electron microscopy (TEM) study confirms the core-shell nature of the nanoparticles with an average size of â¼25 nm. The core-shell nanoparticles are investigated by using x-ray diffraction (XRD), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) and elemental mapping, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and infrared (IR) spectroscopy. The Rietveld refinement of the XRD pattern reveals that the core-shell compound has a face-centered cubic crystal structure with space group Fm3m. The observation of characteristic absorption bands in the range of 2000-2300 cm(-1) in IR spectra corresponds to the CN stretching frequency of Mn(II)/Ni(II)-N≡C-Cr(III) sequence, confirming the formation of Prussian blue analogues. Hydrogen absorption isotherm measurements have been used to investigate the kinetics of molecular hydrogen adsorption into core-shell compounds of the Prussian blue analogue at low temperature conditions. Interestingly, the core-shell compound shows an enhancement in the hydrogen capacity (2.0 wt % at 123 K) as compared to bare-core and bare-shell compounds. The hydrogen adsorption capacity has been correlated with the specific surface area and TGA analysis of the core-shell compound. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report on the hydrogen storage properties of core-shell Prussian blue analogue molecular magnet that could be useful for hydrogen storage applications.
ABSTRACT
We report a detailed structural disorder study of the Ba(x)Mn[Fe(CN)(6)](2(x+1)/3)·zH(2)O (x = 0 and 0.3) molecular magnets by carrying out Reverse Monte Carlo (RMC) simulations of neutron diffraction data. Both samples have also been investigated using X-ray diffraction, infrared spectroscopy and dc magnetization techniques. Rietveld refinement of X-ray and neutron diffraction patterns confirmed the single phase formation for both compounds in a face-centered cubic structure. IR spectral study establishes the presence of cyanide flipping in both compounds, thereby revealing inherent structural disorder in the compounds. A ferrimagnetic coupling of Mn(2+) (S = 5/2) spins and the Fe(3+) (S = 1/2) spins is found for both compounds. Results of RMC simulations of neutron diffraction data for both compounds show that: (i) around the coordinated oxygen atoms (located at the 24e crystallographic sites with [Fe(CN)(6)] vacancies), there are formations of small clusters of non-coordinated oxygen atoms; and (ii) Ba substitution leads to a reduction in this structural disorder. The role of reduced water content as well as vacancies of [Fe(CN)(6)] towards the observed reduction in the structural disorder is discussed.
ABSTRACT
A new series of La(1-x)Ce(x)CrO(3) (0.0
