Synthesis, crystal structure, and magnetic properties of RE3Sb3Mg2O14 (RE=La, Pr, Sm, Eu, Tb, Ho): new 2D Kagome materials

TL;DR

This paper reports the synthesis, crystal structure, and magnetic properties of a new family of 2D Kagome lattice materials based on rare earth elements, which are structurally ordered and exhibit predominantly antiferromagnetic interactions with minimal magnetic ordering above 2 K.

Contribution

The study introduces a novel family of fully ordered 2D rare earth Kagome materials with detailed structural and magnetic characterization, expanding the understanding of magnetic frustration in these systems.

Findings

Compounds crystallize in a rhombohedral supercell of the cubic pyrochlore structure.

Exhibit predominantly antiferromagnetic interactions between rare earth moments.

Most compounds show no magnetic ordering above 2 K.

Abstract

We present the crystal structures and magnetic properties of RE3Sb3Mg2O14 (La3Sb3Mg2O14, Pr3Sb3Mg2O14, Sm3Sb3Mg2O14, Eu3Sb3Mg2O14, Tb3Sb3Mg2O14, and Ho3Sb3Mg2O14), a family of novel materials based on a perfect geometry 2D rare earth Kagome lattice. Structure refinements were performed by the Rietveld method using X-ray diffraction data, indicating that the layered compounds are fully structurally ordered. The compounds crystallize in a rhombohedral supercell of the cubic pyrochlore structure, in the space group R-3m. As indicated by magnetic susceptibility measurements, they exhibit predominantly antiferromagnetic interactions between rare earth moments. Except for possibly Pr3Sb3Mg2O14 and Eu3Sb3Mg2O14, none of the compounds show any signs of magnetic ordering above 2 K. This RE3Sb3Mg2O14 family of compounds is similar to that of RE3Sb3Zn2O14, except the series reported here features a fully ordered distribution of cations in both the nonmagnetic antimony and magnesium sites and the magnetic rare earth kagome sites. The compounds appear to be relatively defect-free and are therefore model systems for investigating magnetic frustration on an ideal 2D rare earth Kagome lattice.