Structural, Spectroscopic, Electric and Magnetic Properties of New Trigonal K<sub>5</sub>FeHf(MoO<sub>4</sub>)<sub>6</sub> Orthomolybdate

oleh: Victoria Grossman, Victor Atuchin, Bair G. Bazarov, Aleksandr Aleksandrovsky, Evgeniy Eremin, Alexander Krylov, Natalia Kuratieva, Jibzema G. Bazarova, Nikolai Maximov, Maxim Molokeev, Aleksandr Oreshonkov, Natalia Pervukhina, Nikolay Shestakov

Format: Article
Diterbitkan: MDPI AG 2023-02-01

Deskripsi

A new multicationic structurally disordered K<sub>5</sub>FeHf(MoO<sub>4</sub>)<sub>6</sub> crystal belonging to the molybdate family is synthesized by the two-stage solid state reaction method. The characterization of the electronic and vibrational properties of the K<sub>5</sub>FeHf(MoO<sub>4</sub>)<sub>6</sub> was performed using density functional theory calculations, group theory, Raman and infrared spectroscopy. The vibrational spectra are dominated by vibrations of the MoO<sub>4</sub> tetrahedra, while the lattice modes are observed in a low-wavenumber part of the spectra. The experimental gap in the phonon spectra between 450 and 700 cm<sup>−1</sup> is in a good agreement with the simulated phonon density of the states. K<sub>5</sub>FeHf(MoO<sub>4</sub>)<sub>6</sub> is a paramagnetic down to 4.2 K. The negative Curie–Weiss temperature of −6.7 K indicates dominant antiferromagnetic interactions in the compound. The direct and indirect optical bandgaps of K<sub>5</sub>FeHf(MoO<sub>4</sub>)<sub>6</sub> are 2.97 and 3.21 eV, respectively. The K<sub>5</sub>FeHf(MoO<sub>4</sub>)<sub>6</sub> bandgap narrowing, with respect to the variety of known molybdates and the ab initio calculations, is explained by the presence of Mott-Hubbard optical excitation in the system of Fe<sup>3+</sup> ions.