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    Structural and magnetic characterization of rare-earth antiferromagnets LiBaRE2(BO3)3 (RE = Pr, Nd, Sm-Tb) with frustrated spin-hexamer lattice

    Malik Ashtar1, Xinyang Liu1, Zhaotong Zhuang1, Junsen Xiang1,*, Zhaoming Tian2,†, and Peijie Sun1,‡

    • *Contact author: xiangjs@iphy.ac.cn
    • †Contact author: tianzhaoming@hust.edu.cn
    • ‡Contact author: pjsun@iphy.ac.cn

    Phys. Rev. Materials 9, 114403 – Published 3 November, 2025

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/23n2-6kzy

    Abstract

    Geometrically frustrated spin systems continue to serve as a fertile ground for realizing nontrivial quantum states, making the exploration of new materials in this category a central pursuit. In this work, we report the synthesis and investigation of a new family of antiferromagnets, LiBaRE2(BO3)3 (RE = Pr, Nd, Sm–Tb). These compounds crystallize in the trigonal P3¯m1 space group, where neighboring REO9 polyhedra share faces to form spatially confined RE6 spin hexamers. These hexamers interconnect within the ab plane to construct a two-dimensional frustrated triangular spin-hexamer lattice, featuring hierarchical spin interactions with strong intracluster and weak intercluster couplings. Magnetic susceptibility measurements down to 1.8 K reveal no signs of long-range magnetic order or spin freezing across the entire series, despite the presence of dominant antiferromagnetic interactions. Further magnetization studies on a representative member LiBaGd2(BO3)3 down to 0.4 K uncover a long-range antiferromagnetic transition at ∼0.91 K. Quasi-adiabatic demagnetization experiments on this material demonstrate outstanding cooling effect, reaching a pronounced temperature minimum at ∼146 mK near the antiferromagnetic critical field μ0Hc∼0.75 T. Notably, this temperature valley is markedly broadened over an extended field interval, indicating the presence of a quantum critical state near μ0Hc with persistent spin fluctuations. Altogether, LiBaRE2(BO3)3 represents a versatile platform of frustrated spin clusters, offering new possibilities for exploring unconventional magnetic ground states and potential cryogenic cooling applications.

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