Inorganic Chemistry, Vol.42, No.21, 6859-6867, 2003
Hydrothermal synthesis in the system Ni(OH)(2)-NiSO4: Nuclear and magnetic structures and magnetic properties of Ni-3(OH)(2)(SO4)(2)(H2O)(2)
We present the synthesis, characterization by DT-TGA and IR, single crystal X-ray nuclear structure at 300 K, nuclear and magnetic structure from neutron powder diffraction on a deuterated sample at 1.4 K, and magnetic properties as a function of temperature and magnetic field of Ni-3(OH)(2)(SO4)(2)(H2O)(2). The structure is formed of chains, parallel to the c-axis, of edge-sharing Ni(1)O-6 octahedra, connected by the corners of Ni(2)O-6 octahedra to form corrugated sheets along the bc-plane. The sheets are connected to one another by the sulfate groups to form the 3D network. The magnetic properties measured by ac and dc magnetization, isothermal magnetization at 2 K, and heat capacity are characterized by a transition from a paramagnet (C = 3.954 emu K/mol and theta = -31 K) to a canted antiferromagnet at T-N = 29 K with an estimated canting angle of 0.2-0.3degrees. Deduced from powder neutron diffraction data, the magnetic structure is modeled by alternate pairs of Ni(1) within a chain having their moments pointing along [010] and [0 (1) over bar0], respectively. The moments of Ni(2) atoms are oppositely oriented with respect to their adjacent pairs. The resulting structure is that of a compensated arrangement of moments within one layer, comprising one ferromagnetic and three antiferromagnetic superexchange pathways between the nickel atoms.