Effect of silver solubility on the structural, electrical, and magnetic properties of multiferroic LiCu2O2

• Published in: Inorganic materials Vol. 51; no. 6; pp. 598 - 606
• Main Authors: Dau, Hieu Sy, Kamentsev, K. E., Sirotinkin, V. P., Yakovlev, K. A., Tishchenko, E. A., Bush, A. A.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Moscow Pleiades Publishing 01-06-2015
• Subjects: Chemistry; Chemistry and Materials Science; Industrial Chemistry/Chemical Engineering; Inorganic Chemistry; Materials Science; Zero Field Cool; Magnetic Phase Transition; Silver Atom; Field Cool; Silver Content
• ISSN: 0020-1685; 1608-3172
• DOI: 10.1134/S0020168515060072

Platelike single crystals up to 4 × 8 × 8 mm in dimensions have been grown by slowly cooling Li
2
O · 4(1 −
x
)CuO · 4
x
AgNO
3
(0 ≤
x
≤ 0.5) melts. X-ray diffraction and X-ray spectroscopy characterization has shown that the crystals are isostructural with LiCu
2
O
2
and contain up to 4 at % Ag (relative to the Cu atoms). The addition of silver to lithium cuprate crystals increases their electrical conductivity by about three orders of magnitude, has little effect on the temperature behavior of their magnetic moment
M
(
T
) at
T
< 50 K, and suppresses anomalies in
M
(
T
) in the 150 K region.