Exploring Structural and Spin Orders in the Quantum Spin Liquid Candidate ZnxCu4-x(OD)6FBr by Powder Neutron Diffraction

DOI

Quantum spin liquids (QSLs) are intriguing states of matter in which magnetic frustration and strong quantum fluctuations prevent classical long-range magnetic order. To date, one of the best experimental realisations of such a system is herbertsmithite, ZnCu3(OH)6Cl2, but the exact nature of its QSL state remains a matter of debate. Here, we propose to explore Zn-doped deuterated barlowite, ZnxCu4-x(OD)6FBr, by powder neutron diffraction (PND). Like herbertsmithite, barlowite contains frustrated kagome layers of Cu2+ ions. The x = 0 member of the series undergoes a magnetic ordering transition at T ~ 15 K, but the effects of doping the system with non-magnetic Zn2+ ions are yet to be fully explored. PND is necessary in order to elucidate the nature of the spin order in barlowite below 15 K as well as determining the degree of Zn/Cu (dis)order.

Identifier
DOI https://doi.org/10.5286/ISIS.E.95671117
Metadata Access https://icatisis.esc.rl.ac.uk/oaipmh/request?verb=GetRecord&metadataPrefix=oai_datacite&identifier=oai:icatisis.esc.rl.ac.uk:inv/95671117
Provenance
Creator Mr Lewis Farrar; Mr Teng Li; Mr Richard Lyons; Dr Gøran Nilsen; Dr Lucy Clark; Miss Katherine Tustain; Miss Jennifer Graham; Professor Phil Lightfoot; Dr Ivan da Silva Gonzalez
Publisher ISIS Neutron and Muon Source
Publication Year 2021
Rights CC-BY Attribution 4.0 International; https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
OpenAccess true
Contact isisdata(at)stfc.ac.uk
Representation
Resource Type Dataset
Discipline Chemistry; Natural Sciences; Physics
Temporal Coverage Begin 2018-06-22T07:00:00Z
Temporal Coverage End 2018-06-27T08:08:38Z