Structure and Basic Magnetic Properties of the Honeycomb Lattice Compounds Na2co2teo6 and Na3co2sbo6 L
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ARTICLE IN PRESS Journal of Solid State Chemistry 180 (2007) 1060–1067 www.elsevier.com/locate/jssc Structure and basic magnetic properties of the honeycomb lattice compounds Na2Co2TeO6 and Na3Co2SbO6 L. Viciua,Ã, Q. Huangb, E. Morosana, H.W. Zandbergenc, N.I. Greenbauma, T. McQueena, R.J. Cavaa aDepartment of Chemistry, Princeton University, Princeton NJ 08544, USA bNIST Center for Neutron Research, NIST, Gaithersburg, MD 20899, USA cNational Centre for HREM, Department of Nanoscience, Delft Institute of Technology, Al Delft, The Netherlands Received 26 September 2006; received in revised form 15 December 2006; accepted 2 January 2007 Available online 14 January 2007 Abstract The synthesis, structure, and basic magnetic properties of Na2Co2TeO6 and Na3Co2SbO6 are reported. The crystal structures were determined by neutron powder diffraction. Na2Co2TeO6 has a two-layer hexagonal structure (space group P6322) while Na3Co2SbO6 has a single-layer monoclinic structure (space group C2/m). The Co, Te, and Sb ions are in octahedral coordination, and the edge sharing octahedra form planes interleaved by sodium ions. Both compounds have full ordering of the Co2+ and Te6+/Sb5+ ions in the ab plane such that the Co2+ ions form a honeycomb array. The stacking of the honeycomb arrays differ in the two compounds. Both Na2Co2TeO6 and Na3Co2SbO6 display magnetic ordering at low temperatures, with what appears to be a spin-flop transition found in Na3Co2SbO6. r 2007 Published by Elsevier Inc. Keywords: Honeycomb lattice; Layered cobalt compounds; Antiferromagnetic ordering 1. Introduction ions have a triangular planar lattice, considered an important factor in driving the properties in these phases. The study of the magnetic properties of low dimensional One variant of the triangular lattice is the honeycomb systems has played an important role in condensed matter geometry, where 1/3 of the sites of a triangular lattice are physics [1]. The understanding of both the theoretical non-magnetic. Compounds with the magnetic ions in this models and the concepts of low dimensional magnets geometry have manifested interesting properties such as gained momentum with the discovery of high Tc super- spin-glass behavior [10], spin-flop transitions [11] and even conductivity in cuprates, where the magnetic ions are superconductivity [12]. Here we report the synthesis, arranged in square planes [2]. Also of recent interest have structural and magnetic characterization of two Co-based been triangle-based geometries: when populated with compounds, Na2Co2TeO6 and Na3Co2SbO6, in which the antiferromagnetically coupled magnetic atoms, frustration Co ions are arranged in a honeycomb lattice. Na3Co2SbO6 of the low temperature magnetic states can occur due to was recently described as being trigonal [13] but no other conflicting near neighbor spin interactions [3]. In this information related to the synthesis, structural or physical category, NaxCoO2 represents one of the richest systems of property characterization of this phase is available. The Te- current interest [4–8]. The layered structures of the based compound has not been previously reported. NaxCoO2 phases consist of planes of edge-sharing cobal- t–oxygen octahedra interleaved with Na ions [9]. The Co 2. Experimental à Corresponding author. Fax: 609 258 6746. Na2Co2TeO6 and Na3Co2SbO6 were prepared by mixing E-mail address: [email protected] (L. Viciu). Na2CO3 (Alfa, 99.5%) and Co3O4 (Alfa, 99.7%) with TeO2 0022-4596/$ - see front matter r 2007 Published by Elsevier Inc. doi:10.1016/j.jssc.2007.01.002 ARTICLE IN PRESS L. Viciu et al. / Journal of Solid State Chemistry 180 (2007) 1060–1067 1061 (JMC, 99.9995%) or Sb2O4 (Sb2O5 Alfa, 99.5%, annealed pattern of Na2Co2TeO6 was indexed with a hexagonal cell for 12 h at 1000 1C in air to prepare Sb2O4). The Co:(Sb,Te) in the space group P6322 (No.182), while that of ratio was stoichiometric, but 20% excess Na2CO3 was Na3Co2SbO6 was indexed with a centered monoclinic cell added to compensate for loss due to volatilization. The in the space group C2/m (No. 12). Structural analysis by mixtures were thoroughly ground, pressed into pellets the Rietveld method based on the powder neutron (f ¼ 13 mm) and annealed under flowing nitrogen as diffraction data was performed for both compounds. The follows: 8 days at 800 1C were necessary for Na2Co2TeO6 cell constants, as determined by powder neutron diffrac- with two intermediate grindings—one after 4 days and then tion, are presented in Tables 1 and 2.Na2Co2TeO6 displays another one after 2 days of subsequent annealing; a primitive, two-layer hexagonal structure, while Na3Co2 Na3Co2SbO6 was obtained after 2 days of thermal SbO6 has a single layer monoclinic structure, very similar treatment at 800 1C. In all cases, the furnace temperature to what is seen in Na3Cu2SbO6 [13]. was increased by 5 1C/min until the desired temperature The neutron powder diffraction pattern for Na2Co2TeO6 was reached. Slow cooling to room temperature after shows it to have no observable dimensional deviations reaction completion, 5 1C/min, was performed. The com- from hexagonal symmetry. Its honeycomb-based crystal pounds are both lightly pastel-colored, indicating that they structure was found to be very well described in space have large band gaps and no significant electrical group P6322. A classic two-layer structure, similar to that conductivity or Co mixed valency. of Na0.7CoO2 [9], but with a larger in-plane unit cell to The purity of the samples was analyzed by powder X-ray accommodate the honeycomb-type cobalt-tellurium order- diffraction using CuKa radiation and a diffracted beam ing, is found. The crystal structure is presented in Figs. 3a monochromator. Neutron diffraction data were collected and b. Two symmetry-independent Co ions within the on Na2Co2TeO6 and Na3Co2SbO6 at the NIST Center for honeycomb layer, one type of Te, one type of oxygen, and Neutron Research on the high resolution powder neutron three independent Na ion positions were found. Models in diffractometer (BT1) with monochromatic neutrons of which Co–Te intermixing was tested for the metal atom wavelength 1.5403 A˚produced by a Cu(311) monochro- sites did not yield significant mixing: the atoms are fully mator. Collimators with horizontal divergences of 150,200 ordered. Refinements were carried out with atoms of the and 70 of arc were used before and after the monochro- same type constrained to have the same thermal para- mator and after the sample, respectively. Data were meters. collected in the 2-y range of 3–1681 with a step size of The Na distribution between the honeycomb layers is 0.051. The structural parameters were refined using the highly disordered. The geometry of the oxygen array in the program GSAS [14] The sodium content in each sample planes neighboring the Na planes creates triangular was determined by the structure refinement, and was in prismatic sites for the Na, exactly as is found in two-layer 9 good agreement with that expected from nominal composi- NaxCoO2. In the NaxCoO2 structures, Na is found to tions. occupy triangular prisms of two types: one type that shares The magnetic properties were measured with a Quantum only edges with the metal octahedra in the planes above Design PPMS system. Zero field cooled (ZFC) and field and below, and one that shares faces with the metal cooled (FC) magnetization data were taken between 1.8 octahedra in the planes above and below. The same and 280 K in an applied field of 1 T. Field dependent situation is found for Na2Co2TeO6. In this case, though, magnetization data were recorded at 5 and 30 K for there are two types of face sharing possible, as the Na2Co2TeO6, and at 5, 8 and 12 K for Na3Co2SbO6. triangular prisms can share faces with one Co octahedron and one Te octahedron in the planes above and below, or 3. Results with two Co octahedra. The final refinements (Table 1) showed that the Na ions partially occupy all three types of The purity of the compounds was confirmed by X-ray available triangular prismatic sites, in different amounts: diffraction analysis. The powder neutron diffraction 71% of the Na are in the triangular prisms that share edges Table 1 ˚ ˚ ˚3 Crystallographic data for Na2Co2TeO6 in the space group P6322 (no. 182), a ¼ 5.2889(1)A, c ¼ 11.2149(4)A, volume ¼ 271.68(1) A ˚ Atom Wyckoff position xyzUiso  100 (A) Occ. Co(1) 2b 0 0 1/4 0.8(1) 1 Co(2) 2d 2/3 1/3 1/4 0.8(1) 1 Te 2c 1/3 2/3 1/4 0.9(1) 1 O12i 0.6432(6) À0.0252(4) 0.3452(1) 1.50(4) 1 Na(1) 12i 0.24(1) 0.65(2) À0.026(3) 0.8(3) 0.081(7) Na(2) 2a 0 0 0 0.8(3) 0.11(3) Na(3) 12i 0.702(3) 0.066(2) À0.006(2) 0.8(3) 0.234(6) 2 2 w ¼ 1.39; wRp ¼ 6.53; Rp ¼ 5.05; RðF Þ¼8:4%. ARTICLE IN PRESS 1062 L. Viciu et al. / Journal of Solid State Chemistry 180 (2007) 1060–1067 Table 2 ˚ ˚ ˚ Crystallographic data for Na3Co2SbO6 in the space group C2/m (no. 12), a ¼ 5.3681(2) A, b ¼ 9.2849(4) A, c ¼ 5.6537(2) A, b ¼ 108.506(4)1, volume ¼ 267.22(2) A˚3 ˚2 Atom Wyckoff position xyzUiso  100 (A ) Occ. Co 4g 0 2/3 0 0.23(12) 1 Sb 2a 0 0 0 1.86(17) 1 O(1) 8j 0.2744(8) 0.3410(3) 0.7971(5) 1.25(2) 1 O(2) 4i 0.2463(10) 0.5 0.2056(10) 1.25(2) 1 Na(1) 2d 0 0.5 0.5 1.58(5) 1 Na(2) 4h 0.5 0.3296(9) 0.5 1.58(5) 1 2 2 w ¼ 1.01; wRp ¼ 5.31%; Rp ¼ 4.31%; R(F ) ¼ 7.57%.