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We report the structural and magnetic properties of four-layer Aurivillius compound Bi$_5$FeTi$_3$O$_{15}$ (BFTO) at high hydrostatic pressure conditions. The high-pressure XRD data does not explicitly show structural phase transitions with hydrostatic pressure, however the observed changes in lattice parameters indicate structural modifications at different pressure values. In the initial pressure region values, the lattice parameters $\textit{a}$- and $\textit{b}$- are nearly equal implying a quasi-tetragonal structure, however as the pressure increases $\textit{a}$- and $\textit{b}$- diverges apart and exhibits complete orthorhombic phase at pressure values of about $\geq$8 GPa. Principal component analysis of high pressure Raman measurements point out an evident change in the local structure at about 5.5 GPa indicating that the evolution of the local structure under applied pressure seems to not follow crystallographic changes (long range order). Nuclear forward scattering (NFS) measurement reveal the development of magnetic ordering in BFTO at 5K with high pressures. A progressive increase in magnetic order is observed with increase in pressure at 5K. Further, NFS measurements carried out at constant pressure (6.4GPa) and different temperatures indicate that the developed magnetism disappears at higher temperatures (20K). It is attempted to explain these observations in terms of the observed structural parameter variation with pressure., Comment: 8 pages, 5 figures

Non-Fermi liquid behavior in some fermionic systems have attracted significant interest in last few decades. Certain pyrochlore iridates with stronger spin-orbit coupling strength have recently been added to the list. Here, we provide evidence of such a non-Fermi liquid ground state in another mixed valent metallic pyrochlore iridate Pb$_2$Ir$_2$O$_{7-\delta}$, through the combined investigation of electronic, magnetic and thermodynamic properties as a function of temperature ($T$) and applied magnetic field ($H$). Resistivity measurement showed a linear temperature dependence down to 15~K below which it shows $\rho \sim T^{3/2}$ dependence while magnetic susceptibility diverges as $\chi$(T) $\sim$ $T^{-\alpha}$ ($\alpha < 1$) below 10~K. While a strong negative $\Theta_{CW}$ has been observed from Curie-Weiss fitting, absence of any long range order down to 80~mK only indicates presence of strong inherent geometric frustration in the system. Heat capacity data showed $C_p$ $\sim$ $T\ln(T_0/T)$ + ${\beta}T^3$ dependence below 15~K down to 1.8~K. More importantly spin-orbit coupling strength by x-ray absorption spectroscopy was found to be weaker in Pb$_2$Ir$_2$O$_{7-\delta}$ compared to other pyrochlore iridates. In absence of any large moment rare earth magnetic ion, Pb$_2$Ir$_2$O$_{7-\delta}$ presents a rare example of an irirdate system showing non-Fermi liquid behaviour due to disordered distribution of Ir$^{4+}$ and Ir$^{5+}$ having markedly different strengths of spin-orbit coupling which might offer a prescription for achieving new non-Fermi liquid systems.

From the phase diagram as proposed by Lei et.al., [J. App. Phys 101, 084105 (2007)] a $BaSn_{0.15}Ti_{0.85}O_{3}$ is chosen showing a diffuse phase transition between cubic to rhombohedral (C-R) near room temperature. Dielectric analysis confirms a phase transition near room temperature ($T_{C}$ $\approx$ 290 K) and also frequency dispersion in dielectric constant is observed towards low temperature. Polarization and first-order reversal curves (FORC) suggest that the system is in re-entrant phase at low temperatures. Put together, all these electrical characterization results points toward the relaxor behavior in the re-entrant phase. Local probe techniques such as x-ray absorption near edge spectroscopy, Raman and Mossbauer spectroscopy are employed to investigate the local environment changes around this region of low temperature dielectric anomaly. A simple ferroelectric exchange model explaining the low temperature re-entrant behavior is presented from these results., Comment: 11 pages, 8 figures

Here we explore the structural, magnetic and dielectric properties of Co based compound Na$_5$Co$_{15.5}$Te$_6$O$_{36}$ as a candidate of short-range magnetic correlations driven development of dielectric anomaly above N$\acute{e}$el temperature of ($T_N$=) 50 K. Low temperature neutron powder diffraction (NPD) in zero applied magnetic field clearly indicates that the canted spin structure is responsible for the antiferromagnetic transition and partially occupied Co form short range magnetic correlation with other Co, which further facilitates the structural distortion and consequent development of dielectric anomaly above antiferromagnetic transition. Additionally, the temperature dependent magnetic heat capacity and electron spin resonance measurements reveal the presence of short-range magnetic correlations which coincides with an anomaly in the dielectric constant vs temperature curve. Moreover, significant changes in the lattice parameters are also observed around the same temperature, indicating presence of noticeable spin-lattice coupling. Further, sharp jump in the magnetic field dependent magnetization clearly indicates the presence of metamagnetic transition and magnetic field dependent NPD confirms that rotations of Co spins with applied magnetic field are responsible for this metamagnetic phase transition. As a result, this transition causes the magnetocaloric effect to be developed in the system, which is suitable for the application in low temperature refrigeration.

Colossal electroresistance (CER) in manganites, i.e., a large change in electrical resistance under the influence of either an applied electric field or an applied electric current, has often been described as complimentary to the colossal magnetoresistance (CMR) effect. Mixed valent vanadates with active t2g and empty eg orbitals, unlike manganites, have not naturally been discussed in this context, as double exchange based CMR is not realizable in them. However, presence of coupled spin and orbital degrees of freedom, metal-insulator transition (MIT) accompanied by orbital order-disorder transition, etc., anyway make the vanadates an exciting group of materials. Here we probe a Fe-doped hollandite lead vanadate PbFe1.75V4.25O11 (PFVO), which exhibits a clear MIT as a function of temperature. Most importantly, a giant fall in the resistivity, indicative of a CER, as well as a systematic shift in the MIT towards higher temperature are observed as a function of applied electric current. Detailed structural, magnetic, thermodynamic and transport studies point towards a complex interplay between orbital order/disorder effect, MIT and double exchange in this system.

Selective removal of heavy metals from water is a complex topic. We present a theoretical computational approach, supported by experimental evidences, to design a functionalized nanomaterial that is able to selectively capture metallic ions from water in a self-assembling process. A theoretical model is used to map an experimental mixture of Ag nanoparticles and either Co$^{2+}$ or Ni$^{2+}$ onto an additive highly asymmetric attractive Lennard Jones binary mixture. Extensive NVT (constant number of particles, volume, and temperature) Monte Carlo simulations are performed to derive a set of parameters that first induce aggregation among the two species in solution and then affect the morphology of the aggregates. The computational predictions are thus compared with the experimental results. The gathered insights can be used as guidelines for the prediction of an optimal design of a new generation of selective nanoparticles to be used for metallic ion adsorption and hence for maximizing the trapping of ions in an aqueous solution., Comment: This version has been removed by arXiv administrators because the submitted pdf is copyright of the journal, in violation of arXiv policy

Cubic Half-Heusler Cu$_{1-x}$Co$_x$MnSb (0 $\leq$ $x$ $\leq$ 0.1) compounds have been investigated both experimentally and theoretically for their magnetic, transport and electronic properties in search of possible half metallic antiferromagnetism. The systems (Cu,Co)MnSb are of particular interest as the end member alloys CuMnSb and CoMnSb are semi metallic (SM) antiferromagnetic (AFM) and half metallic (HM) ferromagnetic (FM), respectively. Clearly, Co-doping at the Cu-site of CuMnSb introduces changes in the carrier concentration at the Fermi level that may lead to half-metallic ground state but there remains a persistent controversy whether the AFM to FM transition occurs simultaneously. Our experimental results reveal that the AFM to FM magnetic transition occurs through a percolation mechanism where Co-substitution gradually suppresses the AFM phase and forces FM polarization around every dopant cobalt. As a result a mixed magnetic phase is realized within this composition range while a nearly HM band structure is developed already at the 10% Co-doping. Absence of T$^2$ dependence in the resistivity variation at low T-region serves as an indirect proof of opening up an energy gap at the Fermi surface in one of the spin channels. This is further corroborated by the ab-initio electronic structure calculations that suggests a nearly ferromagnetic half-metallic ground state is stabilized by Sb-p holes produced upon Co doping.

Increasing exposure to arsenic (As) contaminated ground water is a great threat to humanity. Suitable technology for As immobilization and removal from water, especially for As(III) than As(V), is not available yet. However, it is known that As(III) is more toxic than As(V) and most groundwater aquifers, particularly the Gangetic basin in India, is alarmingly contaminated with it. In search of a viable solution here, we took a cue from the natural mineralization of Tooeleite, a mineral containing Fe(III) and As(III)ions, grown under acidic condition, in presence of SO42- ions. Complying to this natural process, we could grow and separate Tooeleite-like templates from Fe(III) and As(III) containing water at overall circumneutral pH and in absence of SO42- ions by using highly polar Zn-only ends of wurtzite ZnS nanorods as insoluble nano-acidic-surfaces. The central idea here is to exploit these insoluble nano-acidic-surfaces (called as INAS in the manuscript) as nucleation centres for Tooeleite growth while keeping the overall pH of the aqueous media neutral. Therefore, we propose a novel method of artificial mineralization of As(III) by mimicking a natural process at nanoscale.

Strong spin-orbit coupling (SOC) effects of heavy $d$-orbital elements have long been neglected in describing the ground states of their compounds thereby overlooking a variety of fascinating and yet unexplored magnetic and electronic states, until recently. The spin-orbit entangled electrons in such compounds can get stabilized into unusual spin-orbit multiplet $J$-states which warrants severe investigations. Here we show using detailed magnetic and thermodynamic studies and theoretical calculations the ground state of Ba$_3$ZnIr$_2$O$_9$, a 6$H$ hexagonal perovskite is a close realisation of the elusive $J$~=~0 state. However, we find that local Ir moments are spontaneously generated due to the comparable energy scales of the singlet-triplet splitting driven by SOC and the superexchange interaction mediated by strong intra-dimer hopping. While the Ir ions within the structural Ir$_2$O$_9$ dimer prefers to form a spin-orbit singlet state (SOS) with no resultant moment, substantial interdimer exchange interactions from a frustrated lattice ensure quantum fluctuations till the lowest measured temperatures and stabilize a spin-orbital liquid phase., Comment: Main Text: 6 pages, 4 figures, 1 table; Supplementary: 4 pages, 2 figures, 2 tables

An unusual atomic scale chemical fluctuation in LaSrVMoO$_6$, in terms of narrow patches of La,V and Sr,Mo-rich phases, has been probed in detail to understand the origin of such a chemical state. Exhaustive tuning of the equilibrium synthesis parameters showed that the extent of phase separation can never be melted down below an unit cell dimension making it impossible to achieve the conventional $B$-site ordered structure, which establishes that the observed `inhomogeneous' patch-like structure with minimum dimension of few angstroms is a reality in LaSrVMoO$_6$. Therefore, another type of local chemical order, hitherto unknown in double perovskites, gets introduced here. X-ray diffraction, electron microscopy elemental mapping, magnetic, and various spectroscopic studies have been carried out on samples, synthesized under different conditions. These experimental results in conjunction with {\it ab-initio} electronic structure calculation revealed that it is the energy stability, gained by typical La-O covalency as in LaVO$_3$, that leads to the preferential La,V and Sr,Mo ionic proximity, and the consequent patchy structure., Comment: 21 pages, 7 figures

Sr$_{2}$FeMoO$_6$ is a double perovskite compound, known for its high temperature behavior. Combining different magnetic and spectroscopic tools, we show that this compound can be driven to rare example of antiferromagnetic metallic state through heavy electron doping. Considering synthesis of Sr$_{2-x}$La$_x$FeMoO$_6$ (1.0 $\le{x}\le$ 1.5) compounds, we find compelling evidences of antiferromagnetic metallic ground state for $x\ge$1.4. The local structural study on these compounds reveal unusual atomic scale phase distribution in terms of La, Fe and Sr, Mo-rich regions driven by strong La-O covalency: a phenomenon hitherto undisclosed in double perovskites. The general trend of our findings are in agreement with theoretical calculations carried out on realistic structures with the above mentioned local chemical fluctuations, which reconfirms the relevance of the kinetic energy driven magnetic model., Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures

Half metallic antiferromagnets (HMAFM) have been proposed theoretically long ago but have not been realized experimentally yet. Recently, a double perovskite compound, LaSrVMoO6, has been claimed to be an almost real HMAFM system. Here, we report detailed experimental and theoretical studies on this compound. Our results reveal that the compound is neither a half metal nor an ordered antiferromagnet. Most importantly, an unusual chemical fluctuation is observed locally, which finally accounts for all the electronic and magnetic properties of this compound., Comment: 10 pages, 3 figures, 3 tables