Magnetic states in nanostructured manganese-intercalated TaS sub(2)

• Published in: Journal of magnetism and magnetic materials Vol. 382; pp. 49 - 57
• Main Authors: Shand, P M, Cooling, C, Mellinger, C, Danker, J J, Kidd, T E, Boyle, K R, Strauss, L H
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 05-05-2015
• Subjects: Clusters; Ferromagnetism; Glass; Ground state; Magnetization; Manganese; Nanostructure; Paramagnetism
• ISSN: 0304-8853
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jmmm.2015.01.023

Nanostructured TaS sub(2) with different concentrations of intercalated Mn ions has been investigated using ac and dc magnetization measurements. The nanostructures are composed of tapes that are less than a micron wide, which themselves are comprised of tubular structures with an average diameter of about 100 nm. The sample with a concentration x=0.15 of Mn exhibited a transition from paramagnetism to a cluster glass state at approximately 8 K. The dynamics of this cluster glass state was better described by the Vogel-Fulcher-Tammann law than by critical slowing down, which suggests that the transition is not a continuous one. The cluster glass state exhibited aging-related memory, which is typically observed in canonical spin glasses and superspin glasses. The sample with x=0.23 underwent a paramagnetic to ferromagnetic transition at 85 K. Nonlinear susceptibility measurements suggest that there is another transition close to but somewhat lower than 85 K. With a small measuring field, both zero-field-cooled and field-cooled magnetizations exhibit peaks and dramatic downturns at low temperatures. The field-cooled magnetization also exhibits temperature hysteresis. The unusual behavior of the field-cooled magnetization is due to relaxation and cooling-rate effects. The overall behavior of nanostructured Mn sub(x)TaS sub(2) possesses the hallmarks of competition between clustered magnetic ground states in a disordered magnetic system.