IPA-CuCl3

Chemical formula:

(CH3)2CHNH3Cu(Cl1−xBrx)3

Lattice type:


Triclinic

How to grow:

Wet chemistry synthesis

Magnetic model:

S=1/2 spin ladder

Why is it cool:

A very unusual example of a "Haldane" spin ladder with ferromagnetic rung, also featuring frustrated diagonal interaction

IPA crystal

By definition people usually assume antiferromagnetic interactions when talking about the spin ladders. IPA-CuCl3 is an interesting exception, as it features ferromagnetic interaction on the rung. Thus, two copper spins-1/2 are forming an effective S=1 object, and overall ladder becomes equivalent to a Haldane chain. It is also gapped, but the mechanism for gap generation is completely different.

In addition, IPA-CuCl3 is somewhat frustrated (as there are some "diagonal" interactions). And finally, it also allows for the replacement of chlorine by bromine - a substitution that creates disorder in Heisenberg exchange bonds. Accessible energy scale thus allows to fully study the impact of such disorder on properties of 1D magnet in both gapped and gapless phases. 


IPAX specific heat
Lambda-anomaly in specific heat and its broadening by bond disorder at the boundary of field-induced ordered phase in IPA-CuCl3.

B. Náfrádi, T. Keller, H. Manaka, A. Zheludev, and B. Keimer, Low-​Temperature Dynamics of Magnons in a Spin-​1/2 Ladder Compound, external page Phys. Rev. Lett. 106, 177202 (2011)

B. Nafradi, T. Keller, H. Manaka, U. Stuhr, A. Zheludev, B. Keimer, Bond Randomness Induced Magnon Decoherence in a Spin-​1/2 Ladder Compound, external page Phys. Rev. B 87, 020408(R) (2013); external page arXiv:1211.4741

G. S. Perren, W. E. A. Lorenz, E. Ressouche, and A. Zheludev, Field-​induced ordering in a random-​bond quantum spin ladder compound with weak anisotropy, external page Phys. Rev. B 97, 174431 (2018).

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