Antiferromagnetism and the emergence of frustration in saw-tooth lattice chalcogenide olivines Mn$_2$SiS$_{4-x}$Se$_x$ ($x$ = 0 $\textendash$ 4)

H. Nhalil; R. Baral; B. O. Khamala; A. Cosio; S. R. Singamaneni; M. Fitta; D. Antonio; K. Gofryk; R. R. Zope; T. Baruah; B. Saparov; H. S. Nair

arXiv · 1905.01037

Antiferromagnetism and the emergence of frustration in saw-tooth lattice chalcogenide olivines Mn$_2$SiS$_{4-x}$Se$_x$ ($x$ = 0 $\textendash$ 4)

H. Nhalil·R. Baral·B. O. Khamala·A. Cosio·S. R. Singamaneni·M. Fitta·D. Antonio·K. Gofryk·R. R. Zope·T. Baruah·B. Saparov·H. S. Nair

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Abstract

The magnetism in the saw-tooth lattice of Mn in the olivine chalcogenides, Mn$_2$SiS$_{4-x}$Se$_x$ ($x$ = 1$\textendash$4) is studied in detail by analyzing their magnetization, specific heat and thermal conductivity properties and complemented with density functional theory calculations. The air-stable chalcogenides are antiferromagnets and show a linear trend in the transition temperature, $T_N$ as a function of Se-content ($x$) which shows a decrease from $T_N \approx$ 86~K for {\mss} to 66~K for {\msse}. Additional new magnetic anomalies are revealed at low temperatures for all the compositions. Magnetization irreversibilities are also observed as a function of $x$. The specific heat and the magnetic entropy indicate the presence of short-range spin fluctuations in Mn$_2$SiS$_{4-x}$Se$_x$. A spin-flop antiferromagnetic phase transition in the presence of applied magnetic field is present in Mn$_2$SiS$_{4-x}$Se$_x$, where the critical field for the spin flop increases from $x$ = 0 towards 4 in a non-linear fashion. Density functional theory calculations show that an overall antiferromagnetic structure with ferromagnetic coupling of the spins in the $ab$-plane minimizes the total energy. The band structures calculated for \mss\ and \msse\ reveal features near the band edges similar to those reported for Fe-based olivines suggested as thermoelectrics; however the experimentally determined thermal transport data do not support superior thermoelectric features. The transition from long-range magnetic order in \mss\ to short-range order and spin fluctuations in \msse\ is explained using the variation of the Mn-Mn distances in the triangle units that constitutes the saw-tooth lattice upon progressive replacement of sulphur with selenium.

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H. Nhalil, R. Baral, B. O. Khamala, A. Cosio, S. R. Singamaneni, M. Fitta, D. Antonio, K. Gofryk, R. R. Zope, T. Baruah, B. Saparov, H. S. Nair. 2019-05-03. Antiferromagnetism and the emergence of frustration in saw-tooth lattice chalcogenide olivines Mn$_2$SiS$_{4-x}$Se$_x$ ($x$ = 0 $\textendash$ 4). https://arxiv.org/abs/1905.01037

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