Magnetic behavior of spin-chain compounds, Sr₃ZnRhO₆ and Ca₃NiMnO₆, from heat capacity and ac susceptibility studies

Abstract

Heat-capacity (C) and ac susceptibility measurements have been performed on the spin-chain compounds, Sr₃ZnRhO₆ and Ca₃NiMnO₆, to establish their magnetic behavior and to explore whether there are magnetic frustration effects due to antiferromagnetic coupling of the chains arranged in a triangular fashion. While the paramagnetic Curie temperatures have been known to be large with a negative sign, as though antiferromagnetic interaction is very strong, the results establish that (i) the former apparently undergoes inhomogeneous magnetic ordering only around 15 K, however without spin-glass anomalies, and (ii) the latter orders antiferromagnetically at a relatively low temperature (17 K). Thus, the magnetic frustration manifests differently in these compounds.