Frustrated Magnetism of the $S = 1$ Trillium-Lattice Oxide Li$_2$NiGe$_3$O$_8$

Abstract

We report magnetization and heat-capacity measurements on the ordered-spinel oxide Li$_2$NiGe$_3$O$_8$, where Ni$^{2+}$ ions with $S = 1$ form a single three-dimensional trillium lattice. Powder x-ray diffraction confirms a cubic ordered-spinel structure with space group $P4_{1}32$ or $P4_{3}32$. The inverse susceptibility $H/M$ follows Curie--Weiss behavior above 50 K with an effective magnetic moment $μ_{\mathrm{eff}} = 3.124(4)\,μ_{\mathrm{B}}$ per Ni and a Weiss temperature $θ_{\mathrm{W}} = -0.21(1)$ K, but deviates smoothly below about 10 K. The magnetic heat capacity $C_{\mathrm{mag}}/T$ shows a broad maximum near 3 K with a wide tail to about 10 K, and the entropy recovered between 2 and 40 K is about 88% of $R \ln 3$. The broad heat-capacity maximum is compared with Monte Carlo results for the local ferromagnetic Ising model on the trillium lattice using a characteristic scale $J$ of order 7 K, while the inverse susceptibility shows only qualitative similarity to the theoretical curve. These results establish Li$_2$NiGe$_3$O$_8$ as a rare $S = 1$ single-trillium oxide with frustrated magnetic correlations. The present data provide an experimental platform for discussing the relation between Heisenberg-like and spin-ice-like regimes on the trillium lattice.