Abstract
We bring out novel dielectric behavior of a spin-chain compound, Ca3Co2O6, undergoing Néel order at (TN = ) 24 K. It is found that the virgin curve in the plot of isothermal dielectric constant (ε') versus magnetic-field lies outside the ‘butterfly-shaped’ envelope curve well below TN (e.g., 2.6 K), with a signature of a partial arrest of the high-field magnetoelectric (ME) phase in zero-field after travelling through magnetic-field-induced magnetic transitions. This behavior is in contrast to that observed in the isothermal magnetization data. Thus, this work brings out a novel case for ‘phase-coexistence phenomenon’ due to ME coupling. Another strange finding is that there is a weak, but a broad, peak in ε' around 85–115 K well above TN, attributable to incipient spin-chain magnetic ordering. This finding should inspire further work to study ME coupling on artificial assemblies of magnetic chains, also keeping in mind miniaturization required for possible applications.
Highlights
We bring out novel dielectric behavior of a spin-chain compound, Ca3Co2O6, undergoing Neel order at (TN5) 24 K
It is found that the virgin curve in the plot of isothermal dielectric constant (e’) versus magnetic-field lies outside the ‘butterfly-shaped’ envelope curve well below TN (e.g., 2.6 K), with a signature of a partial arrest of the high-field magnetoelectric (ME) phase in zero-field after travelling through magnetic-field-induced magnetic transitions. This behavior is in contrast to that observed in the isothermal magnetization data
The search for materials with multiferroicity and with strong magnetolectric (ME) coupling has picked up momentum in recent years[1,2] due to application potential of such materials as well as from the fundamental science angle
Summary
We bring out novel dielectric behavior of a spin-chain compound, Ca3Co2O6, undergoing Neel order at (TN5) 24 K. This work brings out a novel case for ‘phase-coexistence phenomenon’ due to ME coupling Another strange finding is that there is a weak, but a broad, peak in e’ around 85–115 K well above TN, attributable to incipient spin-chain magnetic ordering. The observed bond distortion anomalies [36,37] must be correlated to spin-chain ordering, which can result in dielectric polarization effect Since this compound is characterized by strong magnetoelectric effects below TN, we considered it logical to choose this material to search for ME effect from incipient spin-chain ordering. The magnetic-moment containing chains can be treated ‘isolated’ magnetically, considering that intrachain magnetic coupling is much stronger than the strength of the interchain coupling[33] and the three-dimensional magnetic orderings sets in only at much lower temperatures
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