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A new brownmillerite-type compound Sr2Al1.07Mn0.93O5 was synthesized. The crystal structure was determined using electron diffraction and high resolution transmission electron microscopy and refined from X-ray powder diffraction data (space group Imma, a = 5.4358(1) A, b = 15.6230(4) A, c = 5.6075(1) A, RI = 0.036, RP = 0.023). The structure is characterized by a disordered distribution of the tetrahedral chains in L and R configuration and a partial occupation of the octahedral position by the Mn3+ and Al3+ cations. The relationships between the crystal structures of Sr2Al1.07Mn0.93O5 and its A2B′MnO5 analogues (A = Ca, Sr, B′ = Al, Ga) and the structural reasons for the different types of tetrahedral chain ordering in brownmillerites are discussed. The temperature dependences of the magnetic susceptibility and specific heat reveal that the compound is antiferromagnetically ordered below TN = 105 K.

The present understanding of a novel growing class of chain cuprates with intriguing magnetic properties is reviewed. Among them, several undoped edge-shared CuO 2 chain compounds show at low temperature a clear tendency to helicoidal magnetical ordering with acute pitch angles and sometimes also to weak ferromagnetism. Our analysis is based on the isotropic 1D frustrated J 1 – J 2 Heisenberg model with ferromagnetic (FM) 1st neighbor and antiferromagnetic 2nd neighbor exchange. The achieved assignment is supported by microscopic calculations of the electronic and magnetic structure. We consider Na ( Li ) Cu 2 O 2 , LiVCuO 4 as the best studied helimagnets, Li 2 ZrCuO 4 and other systems close to a FM quantum critical point, as well as Li 2 CuO 2 with FM inchain ordering. The interplay of frustrated inchain couplings, anisotropy and interchain exchange is discussed.