Isolated spin ladders in Ln${}_2$Ti${}_9$Sb${}_{11}$ (Ln:La-Nd) metals

Abstract

Here we present the discovery and characterization of a series of antimonides Ln${}_2$Ti${}_9$Sb${}_{11}$ (Ln: La--Nd) which exhibit well-isolated, $n=2$ rare-earth spin ladders. We discuss the structure of the new compounds, with a particular focus on the magnetic Ln spin ladders. Nd${}_2$Ti${}_9$Sb${}_{11}$ and Ce${}_2$Ti${}_9$Sb${}_{11}$ exhibit antiferromagnetic interactions and a well-defined doublet ground state, whereas Pr${}_2$Ti${}_9$Sb${}_{11}$ exhibits a weakly magnetic singlet ground state. Nd${}_2$Ti${}_9$Sb${}_{11}$ is a poor metal with an electrical resistivity of 0.1m$\Omega$-cm at 300K and weak temperature dependence. The thermal conductivity along the ladder exhibits significant field dependence even at 40K, considerably higher than the magnetic ordering temperature of 1.1K. Compared to compounds with transition metal spin ladders, the rare-earth elements impart much lower energy scales, making these compounds highly tunable with external stimuli like magnetic fields. The diverse magnetism of the rare-earth ions and RKKY interactions further contribute to the potential for a wide array of rich magnetic ground states, positioning these materials as a rare example of an inorganic square spin-ladder platform.

References in corpus (16)

• Surprises on the Way from 1D to 2D Quantum Magnets: the Novel Ladder Materials
• Experiments on Ladders Reveal a Complex Interplay between a Spin-Gapped Normal State and Superconductivity
• Use of frit-disc crucibles for routine and exploratory solution growth of single crystalline samples
• Thermodynamics of the Anisotropic Spin-1/2 Heisenberg Chain and Related Quantum Chains
• Pressure-induced Superconductivity in the Iron-based Ladder Material BaFe2S3
• Heat transport by lattice and spin excitations in the spin chain compounds SrCuO_2 and Sr_2CuO_3
• The thermal conductivity of the spin-1/2 XXZ chain at arbitrary temperature
• Thermal conductivity via magnetic excitations in spin-chain materials
• Thermal conductivity and specific heat of the linear chain cuprate Sr${}_2$CuO${}_3$: Evidence for thermal transport via spinons
• Evolution of highly anisotropic magnetism in the titanium-based kagome metals LnTi${}_3$Bi${}_4$ (Ln: La...Gd${}^{3+}$, Eu${}^{2+}$, Yb${}^{2+}$)
• Thermal transport in antiferromagnetic spin-chain materials
• Tunable magnetism and electron correlation in Titanium-based Kagome metals RETi3Bi4 (RE = Yb, Pr, and Nd) by rare-earth engineering
• YbV${}_3$Sb${}_4$ and EuV${}_3$Sb${}_4$, vanadium-based kagome metals with Yb${}^{2+}$ and Eu${}^{2+}$ zig-zag chains
• Magnetic kagome materials RETi3Bi4 family with weak interlayer interactions
• Intricate magnetic landscape in antiferromagnetic kagome metal TbTi${}_3$Bi${}_4$ and interplay with Ln${}_{2-x}$Ti${}_{6+x}$Bi${}_9$ (Ln: Tb-Lu) shurikagome metals
• Magnetic properties of the zigzag ladder compound SrTb2O4

Cited by in corpus (1)

• Synergistic doping and stabilization of magnetically tunable LnTi${}_3$(Sb,Sn)${}_4$ (Ln:Ce--Gd) kagome metals