Effect of disorder on the dimer transition of the honeycomb-lattice compound Li$_{2}$RuO$_3$

TL;DR

This study investigates how crystalline disorder affects the magnetic and structural properties of Li$_{2}$RuO$_3$, revealing that better dimer order correlates with a higher transition temperature and distinct magnetic behavior.

Contribution

It demonstrates the strong dependence of magnetic transition and dimer coherence on synthesis-induced disorder in Li$_{2}$RuO$_3$, highlighting the magneto-lattice coupling.

Findings

Well-ordered dimers lead to a first-order transition above 550 K

Cell parameters are strongly affected by synthesis procedures

Magnetic behavior is closely related to lattice parameters

Abstract

We report the dependence of magnetic properties on the crystalline disorder in Li$_{2}$RuO$_3$ with Ru honeycomb lattice. This oxide exhibits unconventional Ru-dimer transition below $T_\text{d} \sim$ 540 K. We demonstrate that the cell parameters, related to the coherence of the dimer formation, are strongly dependent on the synthesis procedure. We show that the magnetic behavior at the dimer transition is closely related to the lattice parameters. In particular, we revealed that samples with well-ordered dimers exhibit a first-order magnetic transition with the onset exceeding 550~K, higher than that reported previously. We discuss possible dimer configurations leading to this magneto-lattice coupling.