Magnetic susceptibility and low-temperature structure of the linear chain cuprate Sr[sub 2]CuO[sub 3]

Journal Article · Wed Mar 01 00:00:00 EST 1995 · Physical Review, B: Condensed Matter; (United States)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.51.5994· OSTI ID:6494520

Ami, T; Crawford, M K; Harlow, R L ^[1]; Wang, Z R; Johnston, D C ^[2]; Huang, Q ^[3]; Erwin, R W ^[4]

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1. Du Pont, Wilmington, Delaware 19880-0356 (United States)
2. Ames Laboratory and Department of Physics and Astronomy, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa 50011 (United States)
3. National Institute of Standards and Technology, Bldg. 235, Gaithersburg, Maryland 20899 (United States) Department of Materials and Nuclear Engineering, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742 (United States)
4. National Institute of Standards and Technology, Bldg. 235, Gaithersburg, Maryland 20899 (United States)

Magnetic susceptibility measurements for Sr[sub 2]CuO[sub 3[plus minus][delta]] were made from 2 to 800 K, and a strong dependence upon oxygen content ([delta]) was observed. Samples synthesized under oxygen, followed by various nitrogen treatments, exhibited markedly different Curie-Weiss-type terms, and we discuss possible origins for this behavior. High-temperature magnetic susceptibility measurements for the sample with the smallest Curie-Weiss-type term clearly show the increase with temperature expected from the Bonner-Fisher model for a spin-1/2 one-dimensional (1D) Heisenberg antiferromagnet. This is a direct experimental observation of 1D magnetic behavior in this system. The in-chain superexchange coupling constant, as determined by a fit to the Bonner-Fisher model, is [vert bar][ital J][vert bar]/[ital k][sub [ital B]][approx]1300[sub [minus]200][sup +100] K, comparable to the values observed in the two-dimensional layered cuprates. Estimates of the interchain magnetic interaction indicate this material may be the best realization of a 1D spin-1/2 Heisenberg antiferromagnet reported to date. Low-temperature neutron and synchrotron x-ray powder-diffraction studies of Sr[sub 2]CuO[sub 3] show that the low-temperature structure of this system has [ital Immm] space-group symmetry, the same structure reported at room temperature, indicating that this material, in contrast to La[sub 2]CuO[sub 4], does not undergo any structural transformations upon cooling. The absence of crystallographic distortions precludes a magnetic anisotropy contribution from a Dzyaloshinsky-Moriya interaction, implying that Sr[sub 2]CuO[sub 3] should be a nearly ideal spin-1/2 antiferromagnetic Heisenberg chain compound, in agreement with the magnetic susceptibility results. (Abstract Truncated)

• DOE Contract Number: W-7405-ENG-82
• OSTI ID: 6494520
• Journal Information: Physical Review, B: Condensed Matter; (United States), Vol. 51:9; ISSN 0163-1829
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
COPPER OXIDES
MAGNETIC SUSCEPTIBILITY
STRONTIUM OXIDES
CRYSTAL STRUCTURE
CURIE-WEISS LAW
NEUTRON DIFFRACTION
TEMPERATURE DEPENDENCE
X-RAY DIFFRACTION
ALKALINE EARTH METAL COMPOUNDS
CHALCOGENIDES
COHERENT SCATTERING
COPPER COMPOUNDS
DIFFRACTION
MAGNETIC PROPERTIES
OXIDES
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
SCATTERING
STRONTIUM COMPOUNDS
TRANSITION ELEMENT COMPOUNDS
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