INSTITUTE OF PHYSICS PUBLISHING

JOURNAL OF PHYSICS: CONDENSED MATTER

J. Phys.: Condens. Matter 16 (2004) S585–S590

PII: S0953-8984(04)74132-6

New magnetic materials obtained by ion-exchange
reactions from non-magnetic layered perovskites
H Kageyama1,2,3,4, L Viciu2 , G Caruntu2 , Y Ueda3 and J B Wiley2
1 Department of Chemistry, Graduate School of Science, Kyoto University,
Kyoto 606-8502, Japan
2 Department of Chemistry and the Advanced Materials Research Institute,
University of New Orleans, New Orleans, LA 70148-2820, USA
3 Institute for Solid State Physics, University of Tokyo, Kashiwa, Chiba 277-8581, Japan

E-mail: kage@kuchem.kyoto-u.ac.jp

Received 7 January 2004
Published 4 March 2004
Online at stacks.iop.org/JPhysCM/16/S585 (DOI: 10.1088/0953-8984/16/11/003)
Abstract
New layered magnetic materials, (MCl)Ca2 Ta3 O10 (M = Cu, Fe), have been
prepared by ion-exchange reactions of non-magnetic perovskite derivatives,
ACa2 Ta3 O10 (A = Rb, Li), in corresponding anhydrous molten salts. Powder
x-ray diffraction patterns of the products are successfully indexed assuming
tetragonal symmetry with cell dimensions a = 3.829 Å and c = 15.533 Å forCu, and a = 3.822 Å and c = 15.672 Å for Fe. Being separated by theCa2 Ta3 O10 triple-layer perovskite slabs, the transition-metal chloride (MCl)
network provides a two-dimensional magnetic lattice. Magnetic susceptibility
measurements show that (CuCl)Ca2 Ta3 O10 is in an antiferromagnetic state
below 8 K, while (FeCl)Ca2 Ta3 O10 has two anomalies at 91 and 125 K,
suggesting successive phase transitions due to geometrical spin frustration.

1. Introduction
Geometrical spin frustration has received considerable interest from solid-state physicists overthe last several decades. They have investigated models mostly comprising of rigid triangles
with only one exchange interaction, including pyrochlore, Kagomé and triangular lattices,while little attention has been paid to systems based on squares [1]. Among the latter cases are
the Shastry–Sutherland model [2] and the J1 –J2 model [3], both of which contain two distinct
exchange interactions (see figure 1). In order to exploit inorganic materials with frustrated
magnetic geometry, one usually takes the solid-state reaction route. This approach, however,can limit the control of specific structural features to only those obtainable within the boundsof a specific structure type (e.g. spinel or corundum).
4 Permanent address: Department of Chemistry, Graduate School of Science, Kyoto University, Kyoto 606-8502,
Japan.

0953-8984/04/110585+06$30.00© 2004 IOP Publishing Ltd

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Figure 1. (a) Shastry–Sutherland model and (b) the J1 –J2 model. With inclusion of diagonalbonds (broken lines) to the square lattice, magnetic moments sitting on the corners (open circles)
feel frustration.

Recently, low-temperature topotactic strategies such as intercalation/deintercalation havebeen found to be very effective for the design and construction of new magnetic materials.
Some of the authors and their collaborators obtained (CuX)LaNb2 O7 (X = Cl, Br) from a
non-magnetic double-layer perovskite host RbLaNb2 O7 through an ion-exchange reaction
with CuX2 [4]. They further reported, using similar synthetic routes, the synthesis of a seriesof related materials, (CuX)LaTa2 O7 , (CuCl)Ca2 Nb3 O10 , (FeCl)LaNb2 O7 and so on [5–7].
In all compounds, the transition-metal ions carrying magnetic moments form layers of a
two-dimensional square lattice, separated by magnetically inert perovskite slabs. Since eachhalogen ion is located at the centre of a square made by the neighbouring four magnetic ions,the nearest and next-nearest interactions are expected to be comparable. If this is the case, themagnetic properties are mapped onto the J1 –J2 model. In addition, these interactions appear
to be tunable by modifying, for example, the size of perovskite slabs. Herein, we present
the synthesis and magnetic character of the new magnetic materials (CuCl)Ca2 Ta3 O10 and(FeCl)Ca2 Ta3 O10 , the structures of which are likely to be isostructural with (CuCl)Ca2Nb3 O10 .
2. Experimental details
A triple-layered Dion–Jacobson phase, RbCa2 Ta3 O10 , was prepared by a solid-state reaction
method from Rb2 CO3 (Alfa, 99%), CaCO3 (Alfa, 99.99%) and Ta2 O5 (Alfa, 99.999%).
Stoichiometric quantities of CaCO3 and Ta2 O5 with a 25% molar excess of Rb2 CO3 wereweighed and ground thoroughly inside an argon-filled glove box, annealed overnight at 850 ◦ C
followed by an additional thermal treatment at 1050 ◦ C for 24 h. The excess of RbCO3 wasadded to balance that lost due to volatilization. The product was washed with distilled water anddried at 150 ◦ C overnight. LiCa2 Ta3 O10 was obtained by an ion exchange reaction from LiNO3(Alfa, 99.98%) and RbCa2 Ta3 O10 in a 10:1 molar ratio at 300 ◦ C. After 24 h, the product wasthoroughly washed with warm water and acetone and then dried at 150 ◦ C overnight. To prepare(MCl)Ca2 Ta3 O10 (M = Cu, Fe), ACa2 Ta3 O10 (A = Li, Rb) were mixed with a two-fold molar
excess of ultra-dry MCl2 (Alfa, 99.99%) and then pressed into pellets with a hand press inside
an argon-filled glove box. Reactions were carried out in sealed, evacuated (<10−3 Torr) Pyrex
tubes at 320 ◦ C for 7 days and 350 ◦ C for 12 days for M = Cu and Fe, respectively. The finalproducts were washed with warm water and acetone to eliminate the excess copper chloride
and alkali metal by-product.
Chemical analyses were based on energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) of sets ofindividual grains. These are carried out on a JEOL (model JSM-5410) scanning electron
microscope (SEM) equipped with an EDAX (DX-PRIME) microanalytical system. X-ray

New magnetic materials obtained by ion-exchange reactions from non-magnetic layered perovskites

S587004010

Intensity (arb. units)(FeCl)Ca2Ta3O10020213118214008

40108115012003002001013200

104110(CuCl)Ca2Ta3O106080

Two Theta (in degrees)
Figure 2. Powder x-ray diffraction patterns for (lower) (CuCl)Ca2 Ta3 O10 and (upper) (FeCl)
Ca2 Ta3 O10 .

powder diffraction data were collected on a Philips X’Pert-MPD diffractometer equipped witha graphite monochromator and Cu Kα (λ = 1.5418 Å). The pattern was recorded in stepscanning mode between 5◦ and 90◦ with a 0.02◦ step width and step time of 1 s. Unit cells
were refined by a least-squares method with a homemade program, which runs on a Macintoshcomputer. Magnetic susceptibility measurements were carried out with a superconducting
quantum interference device (SQUID) magnetometer (Quantum Design, MPMS) over thetemperature range 2–300 K in an applied field of H = 0.1 T.
3. Result and discussion
The synthesis of (MCl)Ca2 Ta3 O10 (M = Cu, Fe) is achieved by a single-step ion exchange
reaction involving the replacement of the alkali-metal cation A of the perovskite host,ACa2 Ta3 O10 , by M2+ and Cl− :ACa2 Ta3 O10 + MCl2 → (MCl)Ca2 Ta3 O10 + ACl.
Figure 2 presents x-ray diffraction patterns at room temperature for (CuCl)Ca2 Ta3 O10 and(FeCl)Ca2 Ta3 O10 obtained from LiCa2 Ta3 O10 and RbCa2 Ta3 O10 , respectively. Both profiles
could be readily indexed on tetragonal unit cells and no trace of the impurity phase was foundwithin the experimental resolution of the present experiment. The final products are green
and light brown in colour for the Cu and Fe compounds, respectively. The EDX experiment
revealed that no residual alkali metal is present in the products and the M:Cl:Ca compositions
were approximately found to be 1:1:2.
It is to be noted that, when RbCa2 Ta3 O10 and LiCa2 Ta3 O10 were used as the hosts inthe formation of (CuCl)Ca2 Ta3 O10 and (FeCl)Ca2 Ta3 O10 , respectively, the products were ofpoor quality in that the reactions were incomplete, the products were poorly crystalline anda minor impurity was formed. It is known in many Dion–Jacobson-type layer perovskites
that alkali-metal cation mobilities within the hosts are greater for the smaller alkali metals
and hence correlate highly with the reaction time [5, 7, 8]. This tendency is consistent withwhat happened in (CuCl)Ca2 Ta3 O10 , but not in (FeCl)Ca2 Ta3 O10 . Further study is needed
to clarify the origin of the discrepancy in the latter compound. It may be possible that theS588

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Figure 3. Idealized structural representation of (MCl)Ca2 Ta3 O10 (M = Cu, Fe) with the MCllayer sandwiched by slabs of corner-sharing TaO6 octahedra. The white, grey and black spheresare chlorines, calciums and coppers/irons, respectively.

Table 1. Tetragonal unit cell parameters for the parents and the exchange products.
Compoundsa (Å)

c (Å)

Cell volume (Å3 )

RbCa2 Ta3 O10
LiCa2 Ta3 O10(CuCl)Ca2 Ta3 O10(FeCl)Ca2 Ta3 O10

3.857(3)3.851(1)3.829(3)3.822(3)15.044(3)28.339(2)a15.533(4)15.672(4)

223.8
420.3
227.7
228.9

a Due to staggered stacking of perovskite slabs, the c in LiCa Ta O is nearly double relative to2 3 10

the other compounds. Thus, the spacing between Li ions in successive layers is 14.169 Å.

diffusion of reactants to and products away from the reaction interface is more important thancation mobilities.
As seen in table 1, unit cells obtained from the analysis show that the spacing between
the perovskite layers is expanded significantly on reaction relative to the starting materials.
Moreover, the observed patterns without any extinct reflections are quite similar to those of
the known (CuCl)Ca2 Nb3 O10 (P4/mmm) [5], except for slight differences in peak positions
due to small variations in cell parameters. This indicates that the two compounds should be
isostructural with (CuCl)Ca2 Nb3 O10 . It is known from structural studies that the increase
observed in c is due to the formation of extended metal-halide arrays between the perovskite
layers [4–7]. The divalent metal cations (M) bridge between apical oxygens of the perovskite
layers while surrounded by four chloride ions: the octahedra edge-share with each other andcorner-share with the octahedra of the perovskite layers. Figure 3 illustrates an idealized crystal
structure.

New magnetic materials obtained by ion-exchange reactions from non-magnetic layered perovskites

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Susceptibility (x10-2 emu/mol)

H= 0.1 T
321: (FeCl)Ca2 Ta 3 O10: (CuCl)Ca 2 Ta3 O100050100150200250300T (K)Figure 4. The temperature variation of the molar susceptibility of (CuCl)Ca2 Ta3 O10 (open) and(FeCl)Ca2 Ta3 O10 (full).

In figure 4, we show a plot of magnetization versus temperature for (CuCl)Ca2Ta3 O10 . The
high-temperature data (T > 170 K) demonstrate the Curie–Weiss behaviour with an effective
magnetic moment (Peff ) of 1.65 µB and a Weiss temperature (θ ) of 26 K. The Peff value isnearly consistent with the presence of Cu2+ ions (S = 1/2) in a stoichiometric composition.
The ferromagnetic interactions within the CuCl layer are derived from the positive valueof θ . The compound shows an antiferromagnetic long-range ordering at TN = 8 K. The
magnetic structure is possibly composed of antiferromagnetic stacking of ferromagnetic layers.
To support this magnetic structure, additional experiments such as neutron diffraction arenecessary. It is worth pointing out that the triple-layered niobate (CuCl)Ca2 Nb3 O10 has asimilar Néel temperature (TN = 10 K) [5], while the double-layered one (CuCl)LaNb2 O7
has a maximum susceptibility at a somewhat higher temperature (16 K), accompanied by anunusually sharp drop with decreasing temperature [6]. The spacing between magnetic layers
appears to play a crucial role in the magnetic character of these compounds.
The magnetic susceptibility of the M = Fe compound, shown in figure 4, exhibits a more
complex behaviour. Above 150 K, a Curie–Weiss law fit indicates that antiferromagnetic
interactions are dominant. On cooling, the susceptibility shows a drop at 125 K, which isfollowed by a cusp at 91 K. This is an implication of successive magnetic phase transitions,
possibly arising from the competition between J1 and J2 . A similar behaviour can be foundin (FeCl)LaNb2 O7 , although the niobate compound has lower transition temperatures, 18and 87 K [7]. Determination of the magnetic structures for (FeCl)Ca2 Ta3 O10 , as well as aqualitative and quantitative comparison with the niobate compounds, are important and are
now in progress.
4. Conclusion
We have prepared layered magnetic materials, (CuCl)Ca2 Ta3 O10 and (FeCl)Ca2 Ta3 O10 , using
non-magnetic perovskite-based hosts through the topotactic ion-exchange reactions. Thissynthetic approach has an important advance to offer a wide variety of new magnetic materials.

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Construction of different magnetic topologies, for instance the triangular lattice, could berealized if a host with hexagonal symmetry is chosen.
Acknowledgments
This work was supported by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science andTechnology (MECSST) of Japan through Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research no. 40302640,
the National Science Foundation DMR-9983591 and DMR-0309972. HK and his family
appreciated the warm hospitality they received from the people at the University of NewOrleans during their stay between January and March in 2003, which was also supported bythe MECSST. In particular, HK would like to express his sincere thanks to Dr W Zhou for help
in experiments and to Ms K Tran for her continuous efforts to facilitate daily life in the USA.
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[3] Melzi P, Carretta P, Lascialfari A, Mambrini M, Troyer M, Millet P and Mila F 2000 Phys. Rev. Lett. 85 1318
[4] Kodenkandath T A, Lalena J, Zhou W L, Carpenter E, Sangregorio C, Falster A, Simmons W, O’Connor C andWiley J B 1999 J. Am. Chem. Soc. 121 10743[5] Kodenkandath T A, Kumbhar A S, Zhou W L and Wiley J B 2001 Inorg. Chem. 40 710[6] Viciu L, Caruntu G, Royant N, Koenig J, Zhou W L, Kodenkandath T A and Wiley J B 2002 Inorg. Chem. 413385[7] Viciu L, Koenig J, Spinu L, Zhou W L and Wiley J B 2003 Chem. Mater. 15 1480
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