μSR and NMR studies on the van der Waals cluster magnet Nb<sub>3</sub>Cl<sub>8</sub>
Abstract The van der Waals cluster magnet Nb 3 Cl 8 has recently been shown to possibly host a quantum-spin-liquid ground state. The Nb ions in this compound form a breathing kagome structure, where the magnetic moment comes from three nearest Nb ions forming a molecular cluster with spin 1/2. Previous bulk measurements including magnetic susceptibility and specific heat suggested the existence of spinon Fermi surfaces. Here we further probe the spin system by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and muon spin rotation and relaxation (μSR) techniques. We confirm that there is no magnetic long-range order and the dynamical spin fluctuations persist down to 0.075 K. These results provide further evidence that Nb 3 Cl 8 may host a quantum spin liquid.
Authors
- Bang‐Gui Liu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6030-6680)
- Bing Shen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7263-4748)
- Detong Wu
- Rhea Stewart (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5737-1863)
- Devashibhai Thakarshibhai Adroja (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2280-079X)
- Lin Yang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2767-0026)
- Shiliang Li (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7922-3730)
- Xin Han (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6430-9638)
- Jun Luo (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5122-6806)
- Youguo Shi
- Jie Yang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6346-4599)
- Xiaoyan Ma
- Huiqian Luo (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1514-0041)
- Rui Zhou
Institutions
- Rutherford Appleton Laboratory (GB)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Chinese Physics B
- Published
- 2025-03-28
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1088/1674-1056/adc667
- Primary Topic
- Inorganic Chemistry and Materials
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- National Natural Science Foundation of China
- Chinese Academy of Sciences
- National Key Research and Development Program of China