Weakly canted antiferromagnetic order in the distorted kagome lattice: Y₂Co₃

We report on the physical properties of a new antiferromagnet Y₂Co₃ with distorted kagome lattice. We developed a solution-growth based method to synthesize single crystals of Y₂Co₃ and characterize its magnetic properties, magnetic phase diagram and magnetic structure. We find that Y₂Co₃ crystallizes in the La₂Ni₃-type orthorhombic structure with space group Cmce (No.64), with Co forming distorted kagome layers. Y₂Co₃ orders antiferromagnetically below T_N = 252 K. Magnetization measurements reveal that the moments are primarily aligned along the b axis with evidence for some canting. Single crystal neutron diffraction was used to determine the magnetic structure. It confirms the major magnetic component along the b axis but did not observe the canted magnetic component. We discuss the magnetic and structural behaviors in the distorted kagome lattice and the discrepancy between the bulk measurement and neutron diffraction.

Reference: Y. Shi, D. S. Parker, E. S. Choi, K. P. Devlin, L. Yin, J. Zhao, P. Klavins, S. M. Kauzlarich, and V. Taufour, Phys. Rev. B 104, 184407 (2021).