Crystallography, magnetic susceptibility, heat capacity, and electrical resistivity of heavy fermion LiV₂O₄ single crystals grown using a self-flux technique

الأصل · EN

Magnetically pure spinel compound LiV₂O₄ is a rare d-electron heavy fermion. Measurements on single crystals are needed to clarify the mechanism for the heavy fermion behavior in the pure material. In addition, it is known that small concentrations (< 1 mol%) of magnetic defects in the structure strongly affect the properties, and measurements on single crystals containing magnetic defects would help to understand the latter behaviors. Herein, we report flux growth of LiV₂O₄ and preliminary measurements to help resolve these questions. The magnetic susceptibility of some as-grown crystals show a Curie-like upturn at low temperatures, showing the presence of magnetic defects within the spinel structure. The magnetic defects could be removed in some of the crystals by annealing them at 700. A very high specific heat coefficient γ = 450 mJ/(mol K²) was obtained at a temperature of 1.8 K for a crystal containing a magnetic defect concentration n = 0.5 mol%. A crystal with n defect = 0.01 mol% showed a residual resistivity ratio of 50.