Large off-diagonal magnetoelectricity in a triangular Co<sup>2+</sup>-based collinear antiferromagnet.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 38052828.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1038/s41467-023-43858-z and PMC identifier 10698043.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
Magnetic toroidicity is an uncommon type of magnetic structure in solid-state materials. Here, we experimentally demonstrate that collinear spins in a material with R-3 lattice symmetry can host a significant magnetic toroidicity, even parallel to the ordered spins. Taking advantage of a single crystal sample of CoTe<sub>6</sub>O<sub>13</sub> with an R-3 space group and a Co<sup>2+</sup> triangular sublattice, temperature-dependent magnetic, thermodynamic, and neutron diffraction results reveal A-type antiferromagnetic order below 19.5 K, with magnetic point group -3' and k = (0,0,0). Our symmetry analysis suggests that the missing mirror symmetry in the lattice could lead to the local spin canting for a toroidal moment along the c axis. Experimentally, we observe a large off-diagonal magnetoelectric coefficient of 41.2 ps/m that evidences the magnetic toroidicity. In addition, the paramagnetic state exhibits a large effective moment per Co<sup>2+</sup>, indicating that the magnetic moment in CoTe<sub>6</sub>O<sub>13</sub> has a significant orbital contribution. CoTe<sub>6</sub>O<sub>13</sub> embodies an excellent opportunity for the study of next-generation functional magnetoelectric materials.