Stacking disorder and thermal transport properties of α-RuCl3

Zhang, Heda; McGuire, Michael A.; May, Andrew F.; Chao, Hsin-Yun; Zheng, Qiang; Chi, Miaofang; Sales, Brian C.; Mandrus, David G.; Nagler, Stephen E.; Miao, Hu; Ye, Feng; Yan, Jiaqiang

doi:10.1103/physrevmaterials.8.014402

Title: Stacking disorder and thermal transport properties of α-RuCl₃

Journal Article · Mon Jan 08 00:00:00 EST 2024 · Physical Review Materials

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevmaterials.8.014402· OSTI ID:2281154

Zhang, Heda ^[1];

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^[2];

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^[1]; Mandrus, David G. ^[2];

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Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Univ. of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN (United States)

α-RuCl₃, a well-known candidate material for Kitaev quantum spin liquid, is prone to stacking disorder due to the weak van der Waals bonding between the honeycomb layers. After a decade of intensive experimental and theoretical studies, the detailed correlation between stacking degree of freedom, structure transition, magnetic, and thermal transport properties remains unresolved. In this work, we reveal the effects of a small amount of stacking disorder inherent even in high quality α-RuCl₃ crystals. This small amount of stacking disorder results in the variation of the magnetic ordering temperature, and it suppresses the structure transition and thermal conductivity. Crystals with a minimal amount of stacking disorder have a T_N > 7.4 K and exhibit a well-defined structure transition around 140 K upon cooling. For those with more stacking faults and a T_N below 7 K, the structure transition occurs well below 140 K upon cooling and is incomplete, manifested by the diffuse streaks and the coexistence of both high-temperature and low-temperature phases down to the lowest measurement temperature. Both types of crystals exhibit oscillatory field-dependent thermal conductivity and a plateaulike feature in thermal Hall resistivity in the field-induced quantum spin liquid state. However, α-RuCl₃ crystals with a minimal amount of stacking disorder have a higher thermal conductivity that pushes the thermal Hall conductivity to be closer to the half-integer quantized value. Importantly, these findings demonstrate a strong correlation between layer stacking, structure transition, magnetic, and thermal transport properties, underscoring the importance of interlayer coupling in α-RuCl3 despite the weak van der Waals bonding.

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Research Organization:: Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES). Materials Sciences & Engineering Division (MSE); USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES). Scientific User Facilities (SUF)

Grant/Contract Number:: AC05-00OR22725

OSTI ID:: 2281154

Journal Information:: Physical Review Materials, Vol. 8, Issue 1; ISSN 2475-9953

Publisher:: American Physical Society (APS)Copyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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