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Noncollinear ferrimagnetic structures and spin dynamics in Al-doped lithium ferrites

S.-H. Park1,*, A. Arauzo2,†, S. Inckemann1,‡, and M. Avdeev3,4,§

  • *Contact author: sohyun.park@lmu.de
  • †Contact author: aarauzo@unizar.es
  • ‡Contact author: sebastian.inckemann@gmx.de
  • §Contact author: max@ansto.gov.au
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Phys. Rev. Materials 10, 064414 – Published 24 June, 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/rqyh-8cdf

Abstract

The new non-collinear magnetic order, in an Al-doped lithium ferrite (Al-LFO), (Li0.5Al0.5)(Fe0.75Li0.25)2Fe3O8 (denoted as Li50Al50), could be determined in the magnetic space group P432′12′ using high-resolution neutron powder diffraction (HRNPD) at 3 and 50 K. The largest spin-canting angle of the non-collinear octahedral B-sublattice determined from the structural analysis using 3K-HRNPD approaches the Yafet-Kittel angle 21° at 0 K, extrapolated from saturation magnetization. The spin-canting textures shown at 3 and 50 K are thermally averaged at elevated temperatures to reveal collinear spin alignments along [001] at 300 K under zero external fields. The non-collinearity of magnetic spins in Al-LFOs arises from multiple spin-reorientation (SR) processes without magnetic phase transitions below Tc (e.g., 788 K in Li50Al50). The SRs are activated above 100 K, showing Arrhenius behavior, but blocked at 5 K without altering the spontaneous magnetic polarization, as indicated by ac magnetic susceptibility data. The dilute effect of Li+ replacing Fe3+ (20% in Li60Al40 or 25% in Li50Al50) because of the respective Al3+-substitution for 40% and 50% Li+ in the geometrically frustrated B-sublattice (the hyperkagome lattice) enhances not only the lattice-distortion-induced electric polarization, but also the intrinsic spin dynamics. All SR-related features in both Al-LFOs are effectively quenched above 0.5 kOe, where all magnetic spins of Fe3+ are collinearly aligned parallel to the external magnetic fields, independent of frequency and temperature. These findings could be applied to further develop LFO-type multiferroics, e.g., for photovoltaic applications.

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Phys. Rev. Materials 10, 064414– Published 24 June, 2026
  • Received 2 March 2026
  • Revised 21 May 2026
  • Accepted 3 June 2026
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