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    Entangled spin-charge-lattice coupling driven multiferroicity in polar Co3BPO7 with a buckled hexagonal Co lattice

    D. Chandrasekhar Kakarla1,*, C. W. Wang2, Ajay Tiwari1, W.-Z. Chen1, C. Dhanasekhar1, Y.-J. Hu3, J.-Y. Lin3, Kung-Hsuan Lin4, Tzu-Hsuan Weng4 et al.

    Min-Nan Ou4, Daisuke Okuyama5, Ravi Kumar Trivedi6, Prince Makarios Paul7, Raman Sankar4, I. Panneer Muthuselvam8, H. C. Wu1, and H. D. Yang1,†

    • *Contact author: chandu@g-mail.nsysu.edu.tw
    • †Contact author: yang@mail.nsysu.ed.tw

    Phys. Rev. B 114, 094401 – Published 3 August, 2026

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/1jhd-djp6

    Abstract

    Cobalt-based systems provide a unique platform in which strong spin–orbit coupling entangles spin, charge, orbital, and lattice degrees of freedom, leading to pronounced multiferroic behavior. In the present study, magnetic-ordering-enhanced ferroelectricity is observed in flux-grown polar Co3BPO7 single crystals. Synchrotron x-ray diffraction confirms a noncentrosymmetric polar Cm structure, where Co2+ ions form buckled hexagonal layers along the b axis. Magnetic susceptibility and heat-capacity measurements reveal strong anisotropy with two antiferromagnetic transitions at TN1≈27K and TN2≈15K. Neutron diffraction reveals a noncollinear magnetic structure mainly confined to the ac plane, with a finite canting component along the b axis. The three Co ions form a triangular network connected by alternating corner- and edge-sharing units, generating quasihexagonal rings in the ab plane. Dielectric constant, pyroelectric, and second-harmonic-generation measurements show clear magnetoelectric anomalies at both magnetic transitions. Synchrotron x-ray diffraction further identifies local lattice distortions near TN1, indicating significant magnetoelastic coupling. Berry-phase calculations based on density-functional theory suggest that the absence of inversion symmetry, together with the frustrated triangular Co lattice, stabilizes a noncollinear antiferromagnetic structure. Magnetic ordering enhances spin–spin correlations, activates spin–lattice coupling, and induces a finite Dzyaloshinskii–Moriya interaction, resulting in modulation of the electric polarization.

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