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abstracts
We recently observed for the first time that there exist phase transitions where the structural changes correspond just to degrees of freedom hidden in the internal (super)space of an aperiodic material, here the composite nonadecane/urea [1]. A key factor in the discovery of this type of transition [2] was the examination of the diffraction pattern in 3D, only possible at the time on a four-circle triple-axis neutron spectrometer, the analyzer used in zero-energy transfer to reduce the background and improve resolution. Despite the greater accessibility in reciprocal space, the weak intensity of the superlattice reflections limited the volume of reciprocal space that could be explored. Modern neutron Laue diffractometers with large image-plate detectors permit rapid and extensive exploration of reciprocal space with high resolution in the two-dimensional projection and a wide dynamic range with negligible bleeding of intense diffraction spots [3]. Surveying nonadecane/urea with neutron Laue diffraction from 300K to 4K reveals further detail of the superspace-driven phase transition, notably an increase in misorientation in the plane perpendicular to the composite misfit axis, as well as a first-order transition to a new phase at lower temperature. These new observations shed further light on how nature can use the degrees of freedom hidden in the internal superspace to form states that cannot be envisaged in the usual 3D real space.
abstracts
Ca2Fe2O5, which belongs to the Brownmillerite family of promising solid-oxide fuel cell membrane materials, is an antiferromagnet (AFM) below TN = 720 K. A small ferromagnetic (FM) canting perpendicular to the AFM easy axis has previously been established by physical properties measurements, but never observed crystallographically. More intriguingly, it has been known for some time to display an anomalous elevation in magnetic susceptibility for 60 K < T < 140 K. [1] Based on measurements performed with small oriented single crystals, Zhou et al. [2] proposed that this anomaly was due to a reorientation of the spins from the crystallographic a axis to the c axis below 40 K, with a region of minimal magnetocrystalline anisotropy in the anomalous temperature interval. In order to test this, we grew a very large (~1 cm3) single crystal by the floating-zone method and collected neutron Laue diffraction data, against which we refined both the atomic and magnetic structures of Ca2Fe2O5 between 10 K and 300 K. We designed and built an ad hoc sample mount to apply a small (~35 Oe) magnetic field to the sample, ensuring perfect consistency with the magnetic susceptibility data, which were collected in a comparably small field. Our refinements against both zero-field and in-field diffraction data reproduce the G-type AFM structure of Ca2Fe2O5 excellently at room temperature, including the FM canting which we have refined to statistical significance for the first time. We can also show that in the intermediate temperature interval (T = 100 K), the spins are slightly less well-ordered due to competing sublattice interactions. However, careful examination of the data reveals that the material is still best described by the room-temperature magnetic structure at all measured temperatures - i.e., the spin-reorientation hypothesis is incorrect.
