LiYbSe2: Frustrated Magnetism in a New Pyrochlore Lattice

Abstract

Three-dimensionally (3D) frustrated magnets generally exist in the magnetic diamond and pyrochlore lattices, in which quantum fluctuations suppress magnetic orders and generate highly entangled ground states (GS). LiYbSe2 in a previously unreported pyrochlore lattice was discovered from LiCl flux growth. Distinct from the quantum spin liquid (QSL) candidate NaYbSe2 hosting a perfect triangular lattice of Yb3+, LiYbSe2 crystallizes in the cubic pyrochlore structure with space group Fd-3m (No. 227). The Yb3+ ions in LiYbSe2 are arranged on a network of corner-sharing tetrahedra, which is particularly susceptible to geometrical frustration. According to our temperature-dependent magnetic susceptibility measurements, the dominant antiferromagnetic interaction in LiYbSe2 is expected to appear around 8 K. However, no long-range magnetic order is detected in thermomagnetic measurements above 70 mK. Specific heat measurements also show magnetic correlations shifting with applied magnetic field with a degree of missing entropy that may be related to the slight mixture of Yb3+ on the Li site. Such magnetic frustration of Yb3+ is rare in pyrochlore structures. Thus, LiYbSe2 shows promises in intrinsically realizing disordered quantum states like QSL in pyrochlore structures.

References in corpus (9)

• Experimental identification of quantum spin liquids
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• The Chemistry of Quantum Spin Liquids
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• Field-induced instability of the quantum-spin-liquid ground state in the $J_{\mathrm{eff}}=\frac{1}{2}$ triangular-lattice compound NaYbO${}_2$
• Quantum spin liquid ground state in the disorder free triangular lattice NaYbS${}_2$
• A Class of Compounds Featuring Frustrated Triangular Magnetic Lattice CsRESe${}_2$ (RE=La-Lu): Quantum Spin-Liquid Candidates
• Structural Disorder and Properties of the Stuffed Pyrochlore Ho2TiO5
• Frustrated Heisenberg $J_1-J_2$ model within the stretched diamond lattice of LiYbO2

Cited by in corpus (4)

• Ln2(SeO3)2(SO4)(H2O)2 (Ln = Sm, Dy, Yb): A Mixed-Ligand Pathway to New Lathanide (III) Multifunctional Materials Featuring Nonlinear Optical and Magnetic Anisotropy Properties
• Experimental Evidence for the Spiral Spin Liquid in LiYbO${}_2$
• Rare-Earth Chalcogenides: An Inspiring Playground For Exploring Frustrated Magnetism
• Pyrochlore NaYbO2: A potential Quantum Spin Liquid Candidate