Magnetic susceptibility and heat capacity of a novel antiferromagnet:LiNi2P3O10 and the effect of doping

Abstract

We report the synthesis, x-ray diffraction, magnetic susceptibility andspecific heat measurements on polycrystalline samples of undopedLiNi2P3O10 and samples withnon-magnetic impurity (Zn2 + , S = 0) and magnetic impurity (Cu2 + , S = 1/2) at the Ni site. The magnetic susceptibility data show a broad maximum at around10 K and a small anomaly at about 7 K in the undoped sample. There is aλ-like anomaly in the specific heat at 7 K, possibly due to the onset ofantiferromagnetic ordering in the system. The magnetic entropy changeat the ordering temperature is close to the value corresponding toRln(2S + 1) expectedfor an S = 1 system. The temperature corresponding to the broad maximum and the orderingtemperature both decrease on Zn and Cu substitutions and also in applied magnetic fields.