Interplay between chains of S = 5/2 localised spins and two-dimensional sheets of organic donors in the synthetically built magnetic multilayer λ ‒ (BETS)₂FeCl₄

Abstract:

In order to understand the magnetic field-induced restoration of a highly conductive state in λ ‒ (BETS)₂FeCl₄, static (SQUID) and dynamic (ESR and AFR) magnetization measurements were performed on polycrystalline samples and single crystals, respectively. In addition, cantilever and resistivity measurements under steady fields were performed. While the metal-insulator transition curve of the (T, B) phase diagram exhibits a first order character, a “spin-flop” transition line divides the insulating state when the magnetic field is applied along the easy axis of magnetization. The effects of a RKKY-type indirect exchange and of applied magnetic field are described within the framework of a generalized Kondo lattice, namely two chains of S = 5/2 Fe³⁺ localised spins coupled through the itinerant spins of the 2D sheets of BETS. The calculations, which can incorporate intramolecular electron correlations within a mean field theory, are in qualitative agreement with the field induced transition from the antiferromagnetic insulating ground state to a canted one, i.e. a not fully oriented paramagnetic, but metallic state.