Pyrochlore NaYbO<sub>2</sub>: A Potential Quantum Spin Liquid Candidate
The search for quantum spin liquids (QSL) and chemical doping in such materials to explore superconductivity have continuously attracted intense interest. Here, we report the discovery of a potential QSL candidate, pyrochlore-lattice β-NaYbO<sub>2</sub>. Colorless and transparent NaYbO<sub>2</sub> single crystals, layered α-NaYbO<sub>2</sub> (∼250 μm on edge) and octahedral β-NaYbO<sub>2</sub> (∼50 μm on edge), were grown for the first time. Synchrotron X-ray single-crystal diffraction unambiguously determined that the newfound β-NaYbO<sub>2</sub> belongs to the three-dimensional pyrochlore structure characterized by the <i>R</i>3̅<i>m</i> space group, corroborated by synchrotron X-ray and neutron powder diffraction and pair distribution function. Magnetic measurements revealed no long-range magnetic order or spin glass behavior down to 0.4 K with a low boundary spin frustration factor of 17.5, suggesting a potential QSL ground state. Under high magnetic fields, the potential QSL state was broken and spins order. Our findings reveal that NaYbO<sub>2</sub> is a fertile playground for studying novel quantum states.
Authors
- Longlong Fan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1748-1192)
- Feiyu Li (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1770-9473)
- Chuanyan Fan
- Tieyan Chang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7434-3714)
- Xutang Tao (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3950-6861)
- Simon J. Teat (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9515-2602)
- Lunhua He (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0531-2148)
- Chengwang Niu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0012-9368)
- Chao Liu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6368-3986)
- Zhaohui Dong
- Jiazheng Hao
- Junjie Zhang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5561-1330)
- Huifen Ren
- Xinliang Feng (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3885-2703)
- Yu-Sheng Chen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9293-5713)
- Shanpeng Wang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2166-0043)
- Shilei Wang
Institutions
- Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (US)
- Shandong University (CN)
- Chinese Academy of Sciences (CN)
- University of Chicago (US)
- Crystal Research (United States) (US)
- China Spallation Neutron Source (CN)
- Shanghai Advanced Research Institute (CN)
- Songshan Lake Materials Laboratory (CN)
- FZU ‒ Institute of Physics of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic (CZ)
- Advanced Research Institute (US)
- Advanced Light Source
- Spallation Neutron Source
- State Key Laboratory of Crystal Materials
Publication Details
- Journal
- Journal of the American Chemical Society
- Published
- 2025-02-06
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1021/jacs.4c13166
- Citations
- 7
- Primary Topic
- Advanced Condensed Matter Physics
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 8.81
Funders
- Shandong University
- National Natural Science Foundation of China
- Taishan Scholar Project of Shandong Province