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Exerting chemical pressure on the kagome lattice as frustration control in the kapellasite family ACu3(OH)6+x(Cl,Br)3−x

Jonas Andreas Krieger1, Thomas James Hicken1, Hubertus Luetkens1, Reinhard K. Kremer2, and Pascal Puphal2,3,*

  • *Contact author: puphal@fkf.mpg.de
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Phys. Rev. Research 7, 033021 – Published 7 July, 2025

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/mgyp-pcpl

Abstract

The kapellasite family ACu3(OH)6+x(Cl,Br)3−x forms a series of compounds, wherein the chemical pressure realized by the A−site cation tunes the spin exchange in the frustrated distorted kagome lattice. Via hydrothermal synthesis we have grown single crystals of the whole series for A= rare-earths and found a clear structural transition to a superstructure variant at a specific chemical pressure level exerted by A=Dy. Phases with crystal structures in the vicinity of this superstructure transition realize a distorted kagome lattice of the Cu2+ cations with characteristic features of a spin liquid. Here, subtle structural disorder as well as controlled chemical pressure can stabilize the spin-liquid phase. We study the crystal structure and the magnetic ground state of these phases via single-crystal x-ray diffraction, magnetic susceptibility, specific-heat, and muon spin spectroscopy measurements.

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Phys. Rev. Research 7, 033021– Published 7 July, 2025
  • Received 17 March 2025
  • Accepted 5 June 2025
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Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article's title, journal citation, and DOI. Open access publication funded by Max Planck Society.

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