Multiferroic Behavior in the Quasi-One-Dimensional Frustrated Spin-1/2 System PbCuSO4(OH)2with CuO2Ribbon Chains

Abstract

Magnetic and dielectric properties have been studied for single- and polycrystalline samples of PbCuSO 4 (OH) 2 with quasi-one-dimensional spin-1/2 chains composed of edge-sharing CuO 4 square planes called CuO 2 ribbon chains. The dielectric constant and polarization measurements indicate that a ferroelectric transition takes place simultaneously with magnetic transition at the Néel temperature T N ∼2.8 K. From the magnetization curves of the single crystalline sample at 2 K, spin flop transition is found at H c ∼2.5 T for the H ∥CuO 2 plane. On the basis of detailed magnetization and dielectric constant measurements, the possible magnetic structure and the origin of the ferroelectricity of the compound are discussed.