Large magnetic anisotropy and field-induced spin-flop transition in Fe2(TeO3)2(SO4)·3H2O single crystals

Abstract Single crystals of Fe2(TeO3)2(SO4)·3H2O with an alternating spin-chain structure are successfully grown by a hydrothermal method. Magnetic and heat capacity measurements show that this compound possesses a short-range antiferromagetic order at ~55 K and a long-range antiferromagetic order at 32.5 K. A large magnetic anisotropy with magnetization easy c-axis is observed, in which a weak ferromagnetic component is observed along the a- and b-axes, while a spin flop transition is observed at applied field along the c-axis. Also, the magnetic anisotropy energy at 2 K is estimated to be 4.78(3) × 108 ergs/cm3. Such magnetic anisotropy may be due to a strong nonsymmetric distortion in the FeO6 octahedra.