Field-cooling induced giant vertical magnetization shift in frustrated low dimensional spin-chain Sr3NiIrO6 system

Abstract

In this study, low-dimensional and magnetically-frustrated Sr3NiIrO6 (SNIO) compound was prepared by solid-state reaction method under argon (Ar) gas atmosphere. The sample was crystallized in a rhombohedral structure with a space group of R-3c. XPS measurement of SNIO studies revealed Ni2+ and Ir4+ valence states. A systematic study of the temperature-dependent magnetization data revealed distinct magnetic anomalies: one was partially-disordered antiferromagnetic (PDAF) at TN1 ∼ 74 K and the second was a completely frozen state of PDAF at TN2 ∼ 18 K. Isothermal sweeping field, and field-cooling induced alteration of the PDAF state are responsible for the anomalous magnetic hysteresis loop in the vicinity of TN2. Isothermal field-cooling caused significant vertical magnetization shift in the M-H loop is possibly related to the exchange bias like phenomena with field-cooled induced soft ferromagnetic phase in the PDAF phase and also attributed to the frozen state of partially disordered antiferromagnetism. This spin pinning mechanism is stable and robust against the sweeping field cycle, field-cooling and isothermal field-sweeping.