Discovery of an Olivine-type Lithium Manganese Thiophosphate, LiMnPS4, via Building Block Approach

An olivine-type orthothiophospate LiMnPS4 has been synthesized for the first time through building block approach by reacting preformed ternary lithium thiophospate with MnCl2. Diffuse reflectance measurements show an optical band gap of 2.36 eV which is further confirmed by DFT calculations. Irreversible weak ferromagnetic ordering and metamagnetism are verified through priliminary magnetic measurements.