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The temperature dependence of the thermal conductivity k(T) of the AsxS100-x glass system was studied down to 1.8 K in a wide range of various (x = 20, 28.6, 40, 45, and 50) compositions. Universal glass anomalies in k(T) were revealed. The temperature dependence k(T) ∼ T2 onset at the lowest temperatures and plateau below 15 K were detected. The plateau formation is sample quality sensitive and composition-dependent. It was experimentally found that even with a slow cooling rate, several samples were cracked. Depending on the sample damage, the additional internal scattering process leads to the k(T) plateau suppression. The observed k(T) temperature dependence is similar to the glassy ceramics-like behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An experimental study of the magnetocaloric effect in tetraaquabis(hydrogen maleato)nickel(II), [Ni(C4H3O4)2(H2O)4] powder sample is presented. The magnetocaloric properties of the studied sample were investigated using specific heat and magnetization measurements in magnetic fields up to 9 T in the temperature range from 0.4 to 50 K. A large conventional magnetocaloric effect was found at a temperature of about 3.5 K, where −ΔSM = 8.5 Jkg−1K−1 and 11.2 Jkg−1K−1 for a magnetic field of 5 T and 7 T, respectively. Assuming a substantial role of the crystal field, the temperature dependence of the magnetic specific heat in a zero magnetic field was compared with an S = 1 model with single-ion anisotropy parameters D and E (axial and rhombic). The best agreement was found for the parameters D/kB = −7.82 K and E/kB = −2.15 K. On the other hand, the experimental temperature dependence of −ΔSM shows higher values compared to the theoretical prediction for the mentioned model, indicating the presence of additional factors in the system, such as an exchange interaction between magnetic ions. The first exchange pathway can be realized through maleic rings between the nearest Ni(II) ions. The second exchange pathway can be realized through water molecules approximately along the a crystallographic axis. Broken-symmetry DFT calculations performed using the computational package ORCA provided the values of ferromagnetic exchange interactions, J1/kB = 1.50 K and J2/kB = 1.44 K (using B3LYP functional). The presence of such ferromagnetic correlations in the studied system may explain the enhanced magnetocaloric effect compared with the model of an anisotropic spin-1 paramagnet. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An experimental study of the rotational magnetocaloric effect in Ni(en)(H2O)4SO4∙2H2O (en = ethylenediamine) single crystal is presented. The study was carried out at temperatures above 2 K and was associated with adiabatic crystal rotation between the easy plane and hard axis in magnetic fields up to 7 T. The magnetocaloric properties of the studied system were investigated by isothermal magnetization measurement. The experimental observations were completed with ab initio calculations of the anisotropy parameters. A large rotational magnetic entropy change ≈12 Jkg−1K−1 and ≈16.9 Jkg−1K−1 was achieved in 5 T and 7 T, respectively. The present study suggests a possible application of this material in low-temperature refrigeration since the adiabatic rotation of the single crystal in 7 T led to a cooldown of the sample from the initial temperature of 4.2 K down to 0.34 K. Finally, theoretical calculations show that S = 1 Ni(II)-based systems with easy-plane anisotropy can have better rotational magnetocaloric properties than costly materials containing rare-earth elements in their chemical structures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Comparative analysis of experimentally measured Raman spectra of crystalline (c), glassy (g), and powdered c‐As2S3 samples is performed based on vibrational modes of As6S6+6/2 ring‐like nanoclusters being fully ("rigid") or partially ("soft") interconnected with the glassy matrix, calculated using density functional theory (DFT). Although good agreement is found in the 100–500 cm−1 spectral range, the DFT simulations show additional super‐low frequency modes of "soft" rings at wavenumbers being significantly lower than the "rigid" ring's vibrational band at 26 cm−1. Broadening of the relatively narrow low‐frequency band of "rigid" clusters is found to be dependent on the number of interconnections of "soft" clusters with the glassy matrix, demonstrating mixing of "rigid" and "soft" vibrations in the boson peak region of g‐As2S3. In addition, the shift of the super‐low frequency Raman modes of "soft" nanoclusters and equivalent characteristic temperature are found to be nonlinearly dependent on the number of interconnections. Comparison with experimental Raman spectroscopic and heat capacity data indicates that the main contribution of both the LF Raman intensity and the low‐temperature anomaly of specific heat at 5.3 K comes from "soft" clusters with four and two interconnections. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gadolinium oxymolybdate, Gd2MoO6 (monoclinic, C2/c) was prepared via nonconventional mechanochemical/thermal process from powdered oxide precursors (Gd2O3 and (NH4)2MoO4). The effect of mechanical activation via high-energy ball milling on the reactivity of the stoichiometric Gd2O3 + (NH4)2MoO4 mixture was studied by thermal analysis (TG-DSC) and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy. While thermal treatment of nonactivated mixture leads only to decomposition of (NH4)2MoO4 and formation of Gd2O3-MoO3 system, mechanical activation provides enough energy for a chemical reaction between both reactants. The product with an average crystallite size of approximately 1 μm shows a well-faceted morphology. The investigation of magnetic properties revealed antiferromagnetic coupling, which is attributed to exchange interactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Quantum Heisenberg chain and square lattices are important paradigms of a low-dimensional magnetism. Their ground states are determined by the strength of quantum fluctuations. Correspondingly, the ground state of a rectangular lattice interpolates between the spin liquid and the ordered collinear Néel state with the partially reduced order parameter. The diversity of additional exchange interactions offers variety of quantum models derived from the aforementioned paradigms. Besides the spatial anisotropy of the exchange coupling, controlling the lattice dimensionality and ground-state properties, the spin anisotropy (intrinsic or induced by the magnetic field) represents another important effect disturbing a rotational symmetry of the spin system. The S = 1/2 easy-axis and easy-plane XXZ models on the square lattice even for extremely weak spin anisotropies undergo Heisenberg-Ising and Heisenberg-XY crossovers, respectively, acting as precursors to the onset of the finite-temperature phase transitions within the two-dimensional Ising universality class (for the easy axis anisotropy) and a topological Berezinskii–Kosterlitz–Thouless phase transition (for the easy-plane anisotropy). Experimental realizations of the S = 1/2 two-dimensional XXZ models in bulk quantum magnets appeared only recently. Partial solutions of the problems associated with their experimental identifications are discussed and some possibilities of future investigations in quantum magnets on the square and rectangular lattice are outlined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]