Anion substitution effects on structure and magnetism in the chromium chalcogenide Cr5Te8—Part I: Cluster glass behavior in trigonal Cr(1+x)Q2 with basic cell (Q=Te, Se; Te:Se=7:1)

Abstract

The effect of substitution of the anion Te by Se in non-stoichiometric Cr5Te8 has been investigated with respect to its crystal structure, magnetic properties, and electronic structure. The compounds Cr(1+x)Q2 (Q=Te, Se; Te:Se=7:1; (1+x)=1.234(6), 1.264(6), 1.300(7)) were synthesized at elevated temperatures followed by quenching the samples to room temperature. The crystal structures have been refined with X-ray powder diffraction data with the Rietveld method in the trigonal space group P3̄m1 with lattice parameters a=3.8651(1)–3.8831(1)Å and c=5.9917(2)–6.0528(2)Å. The structure is related to the NiAs structure with full and deficient metal layers stacking alternatively along the c-axis. The irreversibility in the field-cooled/zero-field-cooled magnetization suggests that the substitution effects of one Te by one Se is strong enough to cause cluster-glass behavior, from ferromagnetic Cr5Te8 to cluster-glass Cr(1+x)Q2. Non-saturation magnetizations at 5.5T and the magnetic relaxation results further support the existence of cluster-glass behavior. Accompanying SPR-KKR (spin-polarized relativistic Korringa–Kohn–Rostoker) band structure calculations strongly support the observation that the Cr(1) sites are preferentially occupied by Cr atoms and predict that these compounds are metallic. Results for the spin-resolved DOS and magnetic moments on each crystallographic sites are presented.