Dear all,
How can we explain the remarkable decrease of magnetization through substitution in sulfospinels Cd(1-x)Zn(x)Cr2S4 , where the magnetization is not affected that much in selenospinels Cd(1-x)Zn(x)Cr2Se4, knowing that Cd and Zn have nearly no effect on magnetism of the system and the only change in the matrix material is the sulfur and selenium! My question is, how can only a non magnetic element as S effect magnetization while the non magnetic Se couldn’t bring that much change?
Knowing that the two elements have nearly the same electronegativity “ Se (2.55) – S (2.58) Pauli scaling” and atomic radii (Se=198 pm , S=184 pm)
Electron configuration Se (4p4) S (3p4)
Could it be explained by the crystal field where (Se or S) represent the ligands ?
I am confused; any explanation will definitely help me to better understand. Thank you very much
The magnetization as you mentioned is just from Cr ions. Any modification away from stoichiometric structure by modifying ion contents will lead to modify the magnetization due to ions redistribution between octa and tetra sites. So, here the magnetization variation is produced by cations distribution which is in turn usually caused by varying x (cation contents). Another cause may be due to non-straight moments of Cr dipoles due to existence of non-ferromagnetic ions like Zn and Cd, but this reason is less effective than first one.
Low-level answer: Non-magnetic elements can affect magnetism through spin-orbit coupling with the magnetic atom. Depending on the structure and interacting orbitals, this could give rise to magneto-crystalline anisotropy.
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