Structural and magnetic properties of Sr₂Y_1+xIr_1-xO₆ materials

Ir-based materials have attracted a lot of attention because of the competition between the spin-orbit coupling, Coulomb interaction and crystal field. Sr₂YIrO₆ double perovskites with Ir⁺⁵ (5d⁴) ions are generally considered to have a nonmagnetic ground state (J=0). However, Sr₂YIrO₆ double perovskites have been reported to exhibit long-range magnetic order at low temperature and the distorted IrO₆ octahedra were discussed to cause the magnetism in this compound [2]. In this study Sr₂Y_1+xIr_1-xO₆ materials were investigated in relation to structural and magnetic properties with varying Y and Ir concentrations. The samples were prepared by solid-state chemical reaction method. Magnetic susceptibility measurements were performed down to 0.4 K.