Magnetic field-induced phase transition in ilmenite-type CoVO3

Abstract

The ilmenite-type CoVO3 undergoes an antiferromagnetic transition below 140 K, and the tetravalent vanadium ions form V–V dimers below 550 K. This paper presents the magnetic spin structure and the phase transition induced by a magnetic field in CoVO3. Neutron powder diffraction at 50 K reveals that the spins of Co2+ arrange in a zigzag order on the honeycomb lattice with no external magnetic field. This magnetic spin structure does not exhibit spontaneous magnetization, corroborating previous magnetic measurements. Magnetization measurements in a pulsed-magnetic field revealed a transition to a weak-ferromagnetic phase at 37 T (100 K) and above 50 T (4.2 K), with spontaneous magnetization approximating 0.3–0.5 μB/f.u. This phase transition could potentially be attributed to a transition to a canted antiferromagnetic phase, which is brought about by the reduction in structural symmetry due to magnetostriction.