Frustrated Magnetism in FeGe <sub>3</sub> O <sub>4</sub> with a Chiral Trillium Network
The discovery of new magnetic ground states in geometrically frustrated lattices remains a central challenge in materials science. Here, we report the synthesis, structural characterization, and frustrated magnetic properties of FeGe<sub>3</sub>O<sub>4</sub>, a newly identified compound that crystallizes in the noncentrosymmetric cubic space group <i>P</i>2<sub>1</sub>3. In this structure, Fe atoms form an intricate double-trillium lattice with nearest-neighbor Fe-Fe distances of ∼4.2 Å, while Ge<sup>2+</sup> ions mediate magnetic interactions through Fe-Ge-Fe pathways. Field-dependent magnetization at 2 K shows a pronounced nonlinearity, reaching a maximum moment of 2.55(3) μ<sub>B</sub>/Fe<sup>2+</sup> at 70 kOe without evidence of saturation. Magnetic susceptibility, heat capacity, and neutron scattering collectively reveal the onset of short-range magnetic interactions near 5 K, with no long-range ordering detected down to 0.06 K. Specific heat measurements demonstrate strong frustration: only ∼34% of the expected magnetic entropy is recovered at 2.4 K. Taken together, these results establish FeGe<sub>3</sub>O<sub>4</sub> as a rare example of a geometrically frustrated trillium lattice magnet, offering a promising platform for exploring exotic quantum magnetic phenomena.
Authors
- M. Li
- Haozhe Wang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4820-833X)
- Xuefeng Sun
- Matt Boswell
- Haidong Zhou
- Huibo Cao
- M. Y. Xu
- W. Xie
- Na Li
- Mouyang Cheng
Institutions
- Oak Ridge National Laboratory (US)
- Anhui University (CN)
- Hefei Institutes of Physical Science (CN)
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology (US)
- University of Tennessee at Knoxville (US)
- Michigan State University (US)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Journal of the American Chemical Society
- Published
- 2026-02-12
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1021/jacs.5c22025
- Primary Topic
- Advanced Condensed Matter Physics
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00