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Evidence of a Cluster Spin-Glass Phase in the Skyrmion-Hosting GaMo4S8 compound

Authors: José Francisco Malta; Marta S. C. Henriques; José António Paixão; Antonio Pereira Gonçalves

Ref.: J. Mater. Chem. C 10, 12043-12053 (2022)

Abstract: GaMo4S8, is a poorly known lacunar spinel where skyrmions have only been reported very recently. It belongs to the AM4X8 family, where A is a post-transition metal, M is a transition metal and X is a chalcogenide, whose most celebrated member is GaV4S8, a compound where the existence of skyrmions has been firmly established. In this work, we obtained pure amounts of polycrystalline GaMo4S8 through a new synthetic route, a solid-state reaction between MoS2 and Ga, at high temperature (1000 ◦C). Composition and purity were confirmed through the Rietveld refinement of the powder XRD pattern, where no additional phases were found. The magnetic phase diagram was investigated using DC (VSM) and AC magnetometry, affording novel insights into the physical properties of GaMo4S8. In addition to the skyrmionic phase present below TC for applied magnetic fields between 5 kOe and 15 kOe, we have found evidence for the presence of a cluster spin-glass phase (Tg=15.3 K), observed under small applied magnetic fields. An additional anomaly at 5 K, detected in AC susceptibility measurements, correlates with an anomalous behaviour of the magnetic field dependence of the specific heat at low temperature.

DOI: 10.1039/D2TC00950A