Neutron scattering study on Eu₃Sn₂S

Geometrically frustrated magnets are an important field of research, and recent interest has grown in investigating materials with various geometric lattices. Eu₃Sn₂S₇ is a particularly interesting candidate ^[1], due to its quasi-2-dimensional lattice made up of pentagonal motifs and its potential to exhibit magnetic frustration ^[2] different from those observed in lattices consisting of triangles. In Eu₃Sn₂S₇, Eu²⁺ carries a large magnetic moment of a spin 7/2. Our previous magnetic susceptibility measurements showed that the estimated Curie-Weiss temperature is comparable to the magnetic transition temperature, indicating limited magnetic frustration. However, a field-dependent magnetization measurement conducted at low temperatures unveiled a magnetization plateau between H = 0.5 T and 2 T, with a magnitude of magnetization approximately 1/6 of the saturated moment. To understand the origin of this magnetization plateau, we conducted systematic neutron diffraction experiments on a single crystal of Eu₃Sn₂S₇ under various magnetic field conditions and were able to establish a connection between the underlying magnetic structure and its anomalous behavior of magnetization. Our results highlight the rich physics hosted by a pentagonal lattice and call for further investigation into this family of materials.



Reference

[1] Par S. Jaulmes and M. Julien-Pouzol, Acta Cryst. B33, 3898-3899 (1977).

[2] I. Rousochatzkis, A.M. Lauchli, and R. Moessner, Phys. Rev. B 85, 104415 (2012).