LiZn$_{2}$V$_{3}$O$_{8}$: A new geometrically frustrated cluster spin-glass

TL;DR

This study characterizes a new spinel compound, LiZn$_{2}$V$_{3}$O$_{8}$, revealing its geometrically frustrated cluster spin-glass behavior through comprehensive structural and magnetic measurements.

Contribution

It reports the discovery and detailed magnetic characterization of LiZn$_{2}$V$_{3}$O$_{8}$ as a cluster spin-glass with specific dynamic and thermodynamic properties.

Findings

Exhibits spin-glass freezing at ~3 K.

Displays strong antiferromagnetic interactions with a Curie-Weiss temperature of -185 K.

Shows aging and memory effects consistent with cluster spin-glass behavior.

Abstract

We have investigated the structural and magnetic properties of a new cubic spinel LiZn$_{2}$V$_{3}$O$_{8}$ (LZVO) through x-ray diffraction, dc and ac susceptibility, magnetic relaxation, aging, memory effect, heat capacity and $^{7}$Li nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) measurements. A Curie-Weiss fit of the dc susceptibility $\chi_{\mathrm{dc}}$($\mathit{T}$) yields a Curie-Weiss temperature $\mathrm{\theta}_{\mathrm{CW}}$ = -185 K. This suggests strong antiferromagnetic (AFM) interactions among the magnetic vanadium ions. The dc and ac susceptibility data indicate the spin-glass behavior below a freezing temperature $T_{f}$ $\simeq$ 3 K. The frequency dependence of the $T_{f}$ is characterized by the Vogel-Fulcher law and critical dynamic scaling behavior or power law. From both fitting, we obtained the value of the characteristic angular frequency $\omega_{0}$ $\approx$ 3.56$\times$10$^{6}$ Hz, the dynamic exponent $\mathit{zv}$ $\approx$ 2.65, and the critical time constant $\tau_{0}$ $\approx$ 1.82$\times$10$^{-6}$ s, which falls in the conventional range for typical cluster spin-glass (CSG) systems. The value of relative shift in freezing temperature $\delta T_{f}$ $\simeq$ 0.039 supports a CSG ground states. We also found aging phenomena and memory effects in LZVO. The asymmetric response of the magnetic relaxation below $T_{f}$ supports the hierarchical model. Heat capacity data show no long-range or short-range ordering down to 2 K. Only about 25% magnetic entropy change $(\Delta S_{\mathrm{m}})$ signifies the presence of strong frustration in the system. The $^{7}$Li NMR spectra show a shift and broadening with decreasing temperature. The spin-lattice and spin-spin relaxation rates show anomalies due to spin freezing around 3 K as the bulk magnetization.