Effect of the A-Site Cation on Quantum Magnetism: Successive Spin-Flop Transitions in the Frustrated Magnet SrCo <sub>2</sub> TeO <sub>6</sub>
We report the discovery of a new compound, SrCo<sub>2</sub>TeO<sub>6</sub>, in which the CoO<sub>6</sub> octahedra form a double-chain structure extending along the <i>b</i>-axis. The structure consists of CoO<sub>6</sub> octahedra connected via edge-sharing in a honeycomb-like arrangement. We present a detailed investigation into the magnetic properties of the spin-1/2 system SrCo<sub>2</sub>TeO<sub>6</sub> through magnetization and specific heat measurements. Our experimental results reveal two successive long-range antiferromagnetic (AFM) phase transitions are observed at <i>T</i><sub>N1</sub> ∼ 11.6 K and <i>T</i><sub>N2</sub> ∼ 9 K, respectively, which demonstrates that SrCo<sub>2</sub>TeO<sub>6</sub> is a quantum spin system with an effective spin <i>S</i><sub>eff</sub> = 1/2 and exhibits a 1/2-like magnetization plateau. Compared with the isostructural CaCo<sub>2</sub>TeO<sub>6</sub>, the substitution of Sr results in a significant distortion of the Co-O-Co bond angle, which weakens the dominant antiferromagnetic exchange interaction.
Authors
- Haoyu Niu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7052-8877)
- Yujie Song (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9600-8530)
- G. Xiao (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0005-5608-5917)
- Zhengcai Xia
Institutions
- Wuhan Polytechnic University (CN)
- High Magnetic Field Laboratory (CN)
- National High Magnetic Field Laboratory (US)
- Yancheng Teachers University (CN)
- Huazhong University of Science and Technology (CN)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Inorganic Chemistry
- Published
- 2026-01-06
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.inorgchem.5c05584
- Primary Topic
- Advanced Condensed Matter Physics
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00