Coexistence of Spin-Canting, Metamagnetism, and Spin-Flop in a (4,4) Layered Manganese Azide Polymer

Xin-Yi Wang,† Lu Wang,† Zhe-Ming Wang,† Gang Su,‡ and Song Gao*,†

State Key Laboratory of Rare Earth Materials Chemistry and Applications & PKU-HKU Joint Laboratory on Rare Earth Materials and Bioinorganic Chemistry, College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering,

Peking UniVersity, Beijing 100871, People’s Republic of China, and College of Physical Sciences, Graduate School of the Chinese Academy of Sciences,

Received September 30, 2005. ReVised Manuscript ReceiVed October 7, 2005

Abstract

Abstract Image

    A novel molecule-based magnetic polymer Mn(N3)2(btr)21 (btr = 4,4‘-bi-1,2,4-triazole) was synthesized and characterized crystallographically and magnetically. 1 crystallizes in the monoclinic system, space group P21/c, formula C8H8N18Mn, with a = 12.2831(4) Å, b = 6.3680(1) Å, c = 10.2245(3) Å, β = 105.064(1)°, and Z = 2. Bridged by end-to-end azides, the Mn2+ ions form a two-dimensional layer with (4,4) topology; the layers are further connected to the three-dimensional network by the weak hydrogen bonds between ligands of btr. Magnetic studies on a polycrystalline sample show the existence of strong antiferromagnetic couplings between the adjacent Mn2+ ions, and the Neél temperature is TN = 23.7 K. In the ordered state below TN, detailed investigations on an oriented single-crystal sample of reveal that the hidden spin-canting, metamagnetic transition, and spin-flop transition can appear in different circumstances. The ground state is of an antiferromagnet with hidden spin-canting. An external field applied along the b direction parallel to the manganese azide layer can lead to a first-order metamagnetic phase transition, while a spin-flop transition may occur when the field is applied along the a* direction that is perpendicular to the manganese azide layer. Magnetic phase diagrams in both the THa* and the THb planes were determined. Possible spin configurations before and after the transitions were proposed. Analyses on the experimental data give the following intrinsic parameters:  the intra- and interlayer coupling J ≈ −3.5 cm-1 and Ja* = 6 × 10-4 cm-1, the anisotropy field HA = 0.2 kOe, the exchange field HE = 387.8 kOe, and the anisotropy parameter α = 5 × 10-4. The small Ja* and α show 1 to be a good example of a two-dimensional Heisenberg system.