YCa3(VO)3(BO3)4: a kagom compound based on vanadium(III) with a highly frustrated ground state

A new S = 1 kagomé compound based on vanadium(III) is reported. The structure was refined simultaneously against single-crystal neutron and X-ray diffraction data, as a gaudefroyite-type with a new supercell (a′ = 2a + b, b′ = −a − 2b, c′ = c) driven by the ordering of columns of isolated triangular BO3(3)− ions. Low-temperature neutron powder diffraction and magnetic (dc and ac susceptibility) data rule out the presence of long-range magnetic order above at least 1.5 K, but specific heat data suggest that the ground state involves short-range magnetic order, which is frustrated by the coexistence/competition of FM and AFM correlations, together with the characteristic geometric frustration of the kagomé lattice. Magnetic susceptibility data rule out a spin-glass state, pointing to an exotic ground state comparable to the spin-ice or spin-liquid states. This makes YCa3(VO)3(BO3)4 one of the most highly frustrated experimental realizations of the kagomé lattice yet discovered. © 2011, American Chemical Society

Keywords

Borates, Laue method, Neutron diffraction, Crystal growth, Vanadium, Monocrystals

Citation

Miiller, W., Christensen, M., Khan, A., Sharma, N., Macquart, R. B., Avdeev, M., McIntyre, G. J., Piltz, R. O., & Ling, C. D. (2011). YCa3(VO)3(BO3)4: a kagom compound based on vanadium(III) with a highly frustrated ground state. Chemistry of Materials, 23(5), 1315-1322. doi:10.1021/cm1034003