Frustrated magnet Li2ZrCuO4 - Paramagnetism meets paraelectricity

By measuring 7Li nuclear magnetic resonance, Cu2+ electron spin resonance and a complex dielectric constant in the frustrated spin-1/2 chain compound γ-Li2ZrCuO4 we find that the electric sublattice of mobile Li+ ions orders glass-like at T g ∼ 100 K. This yields the emergence of non-equivalent spin sites in the spin-1/2 CuO2 chains. We suggest that such a remarkable interplay between electrical and spin degrees of freedom may influence the properties of the spiral spin state in Li2ZrCuO4 which develops in this material at low temperatures. © 2010 IOP Publishing Ltd