Unusual Phase Transitions and Magnetoelastic Coupling in TlFe1.6Se2 Single Crystals
Abstract
Structural, magnetic, electrical transport, and heat capacity data are reported for single crystals of TlFe1.6Se2. This compound crystallizes in a tetragonal structure similar to the ThCr2Si2 structure, but with vacancies in the Fe layer. The vacancies can be ordered or disordered depending on temperature and thermal history. If the vacancies are ordered, the basal plane lattice constant increases from a to 5a. Antiferromagnetic order with the Fe spins along the c-axis occurs below TN ~ 430K as shown by single crystal neutron diffraction and the magnetic structure is reported. In addition, for the vacancy ordered crystal, two other phase transitions are found at T1 ~ 140K, and T2 ~ 100K. The phase transitions at T1 and T2 are evident in heat capacity, magnetic susceptibility, resistivity data, a and c lattice parameters, and in the unusual temperature dependence of the magnetic order parameter determined from neutron scattering. The phase transitions at T1 and T2 result in significant changes in the magnetic moment per iron, with 1.72(6)μB observed at 300K, 2.07(9)μB at 140\,K, 1.90(9)\,μB at 115\,K, and 1.31(8)μB for 5\,K if the same "block checkerboard" magnetic structure is used at all temperatures. The phase transitions appear to be driven by small changes in the c lattice constant, large magnetoelastic coupling, and the localization of carriers with decreasing temperature.