BARC/PUB/2019/0390

 
 

Embedding S = 1/2 Kagome-like Lattice in Reduced Graphene Oxide

 
     
 
Author(s)

Gupta, K.; Jha, P. K.; Dadwal, A.; Debnath, A. K.; and others
(ThPD)

Source

Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters, 2019. Vol. 10: pp. 2663-2668

ABSTRACT

An elegant platform to explore frustrated magnetism is the kagome spin lattice. In this work, clinoatacamite, a naturally occurring S = 1/2 kagome-like antiferromagnetic insulator, is synthesized in water at ambient pressure for the first time from a cuprous chloride (CuCl) precursor whereby Cu(I) was spontaneously oxidized to Cu(II) in the form of clinoatacamite [Cu2(OH)3Cl] with a simultaneous reduction of graphene oxide (GO) to reduced graphene oxide (rGO) in one pot. A stable nanocomposite of phase-pure clinoatacamite nanocrystals embedded in the rGO matrix was isolated. The clinoatacamite−rGO nanocomposite was determined to be magnetically active with a markedly enhanced coercive field of ~2500 Oe at 5 K as well as electronically active with a conductivity value of ~200 S·m−1 at 300 K. Our results illustrate an avenue of combining exotic magnetic and electronic lattices without impeding their individual characteristics and synergistically generating a new class of magnetic semiconductors.

 
 
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