Published in

Nature Research, Nature Communications, 1(12), 2021

DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-25098-1

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Directed synthesis of a hybrid improper magnetoelectric multiferroic material

This paper is made freely available by the publisher.
This paper is made freely available by the publisher.

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Abstract

AbstractPreparing materials which simultaneously exhibit spontaneous magnetic and electrical polarisations is challenging as the electronic features which are typically used to stabilise each of these two polarisations in materials are contradictory. Here we show that by performing low-temperature cation-exchange reactions on a hybrid improper ferroelectric material, Li2SrTa2O7, which adopts a polar structure due to a cooperative tilting of its constituent TaO6octahedra rather than an electronically driven atom displacement, a paramagnetic polar phase, MnSrTa2O7, can be prepared. On cooling below 43 K the Mn2+centres in MnSrTa2O7adopt a canted antiferromagnetic state, with a small spontaneous magnetic moment. On further cooling to 38 K there is a further transition in which the size of the ferromagnetic moment increases coincident with a decrease in magnitude of the polar distortion, consistent with a coupling between the two polarisations.