Transition-metal distribution in kagome antiferromagnet CoCu<inf>3</inf>(OH)<inf>6</inf>Cl<inf>2</inf>revealed by resonant X-ray diffraction

Abstract

The distribution of chemically similar transition-metal ions is a fundamental issue in the study of herbertsmithite-type kagome antiferromagnets. Using synchrotron radiation, we have performed resonant powder X-ray diffractions on newly synthesized CoCu 3 (OH) 6 Cl 2 , which provide an exact distribution of transition-metal ions in the frustrated antiferromagnet. Both magnetic susceptibility and specific heat measurements are quantitatively consistent with the occupation fractions determined by resonant X-ray diffraction. The distribution of transition-metal ions and residual magnetic entropy suggest a novel low temperature (T < 4 K) magnetism, where the interlayer triangular spins undergo a spin-glass freezing while the kagome spins still keep highly frustrated.