Antiferromagnetism at T > 500 K in the Layered Hexagonal Ruthenate SrRu2O6

TL;DR

This study combines experimental and computational methods to reveal that SrRu2O6 exhibits antiferromagnetic order above 500 K, with strong magnetoelastic coupling and semiconducting behavior, making it notable among 4d oxides.

Contribution

It provides the first detailed experimental and theoretical analysis of high-temperature antiferromagnetism in SrRu2O6, highlighting its strong magnetic interactions and magnetoelastic effects.

Findings

Néel temperature of 563 K, among the highest for 4d oxides

Strong intralayer and interlayer magnetic interactions

Semiconducting p-type behavior observed

Abstract

We report an experimental and computational study of magnetic and electronic properties of the layered Ru(V) oxide SrRu2O6 (hexagonal, P-3 1m), which shows antiferromagnetic order with a N\'eel temperature of 563(2) K, among the highest for 4d oxides. Magnetic order occurs both within edge-shared octahedral sheets and between layers and is accompanied by anisotropic thermal expansivity that implies strong magnetoelastic coupling of Ru(V) centers. Electrical transport measurements using focused ion beam induced deposited contacts on a micron-scale crystallite as a function of temperature show p-type semiconductivity. The calculated electronic structure using hybrid density functional theory successfully accounts for the experimentally observed magnetic and electronic structure and Monte Carlo simulations reveals how strong intralayer as well as weaker interlayer interactions are a defining feature of the high temperature magnetic order in the material.