Detuning the Honeycomb of the α-RuCl3 Kitaev lattice: A case of Cr3+ dopant

Abstract

Fine-tuning chemistry by doping with transition metals enables new perspectives for exploring Kitaev physics on a two-dimensional (2D) honeycomb lattice of α-RuCl3, which is promising in the field of quantum information protection and quantum computation. The key parameters to vary by doping are both Heisenberg and Kitaev components of the nearest-neighbor exchange interaction between the Jeff = 1/2 Ru3+ spins, depending strongly on the peculiarities of the crystal structure. Here, we successfully grew single crystals of the solid solution series Ru1-xCrxCl3 with Cr3+ ions coupled to the Ru3+ Kitaev host using chemical vapour transport reaction. The Cr3+ substitution preserves the honeycomb type lattice of α-RuCl3 with mixed occupancy of Ru/Cr sites, no hints on cationic order within the layers were found by single crystal X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy investigations. In contrast to the high quality single crystals of α-RuCl3 with ABAB ordered layers, the ternary compounds demonstrate a significant stacking disorder along the c-axis direction evidenced by X-ray diffraction and high resolution scanning transmission electron microscopy (HR-STEM). Raman spectra of substituted samples are in line with a symmetry conservation of the parent lattice upon chromium doping. At the same time, magnetic susceptibility data indicate that the Kitaev physics of α-RuCl3 is increasingly repressed by the dominant spin-only driven magnetism of Cr3+ in Ru1-xCrxCl3.

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Cited by in corpus (7)

• Electron spin resonance and ferromagnetic resonance spectroscopy in the high-field phase of the van der Waals magnet CrCl${}_3$
• Spin-glass state and reversed magnetic anisotropy induced by Cr doping in the Kitaev magnet $\alpha$-RuCl${}_3$
• Further insights into the thermodynamics of the Kitaev honeycomb model
• Self-selecting vapor growth of transition metal halide single crystals
• Dimer Crystallization Induced by Elemental Substitution in the Honeycomb Lattice of Ru1-xOsxCl3
• Dilution of the magnetic lattice in the Kitaev candidate $\alpha$-RuCl${}_3$ by Rh${}^{3+}$ doping
• Understanding the magnetic interactions of the zig-zag honeycomb lattice: Application to $\alpha$-RuCl${}_3$