Possible quantum-spin-liquid state in van der Waals cluster magnet Nb3Cl8

Abstract

Abstract The cluster magnet Nb3Cl8 consists of Nb3 trimmers that form an emergent S = 1/2 two-dimensional triangular layers, which are bonded by weak van der Waals interactions. Recent studies show that its room-temperature electronic state can be well described as a single-band Mott insulator. However, the magnetic ground state is non-magnetic due to a structural transition below about 100 K. Here we show that there exists a thickness threshold below which the structural transition will not happen. For a bulk crystal, a small fraction of the sample maintains the high-temperature structure at low temperatures and such remnant gives rise to linear-temperature dependence of the specific heat at very low temperatures. This is further confirmed by the measurements on ground powder sample or c-axis pressed single crystals, which prohibits the formation of the non-magnetic state. Moreover, the intrinsic magnetic susceptibility also tends to be constant with decreasing temperature. Our results suggest that Nb3Cl8 with the high-temperature structure may host a quantum-spin-liquid ground state with spinon Fermi surfaces, which can be achieved by making the thickness of a sample smaller than a certain threshold.