The search for quantum spin liquids (QSL) and chemical doping in such materials to explore superconductivity have continuously attracted intense interest. Here, we report the discovery of a potential QSL candidate, pyrochlore-lattice beta-NaYbO2. Colorless and transparent NaYbO2 single crystals, layered alpha-NaYbO2 (~250 um on edge) and octahedral beta-NaYbO2 (~50 um on edge), were grown for the first time. Synchrotron X-ray single crystal diffraction unambiguously determined that the newfound beta-NaYbO2 belongs to the three-dimensional pyrochlore structure characterized by the R-3m space group, corroborated by synchrotron X-ray and neutron powder diffraction and pair distribution function. Magnetic measurements revealed no long-range magnetic order or spin glass behavior down to 0.4 K with a low boundary spin frustration factor of 17.5, suggesting a potential QSL ground state. Under high magnetic fields, the potential QSL state was broken and spins order. Our findings reveal that NaYbO2 is a fertile playground for studying novel quantum states.
@article{arxiv.2501.15350,
title = {Pyrochlore NaYbO2: A potential Quantum Spin Liquid Candidate},
author = {Chuanyan Fan and Tieyan Chang and Longlong Fan and Simon J. Teat and Feiyu Li and Xiaoran Feng and Chao Liu and Shi-lei Wang and Huifen Ren and Jiazheng Hao and Zhaohui Dong and Lunhua He and Shanpeng Wang and Chengwang Niu and Yu-Sheng Chen and Xutang Tao and Junjie Zhang},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2501.15350},
year = {2025}
}
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This document is the unedited author's version of a Submitted Work that was subsequently accepted for publication in Journal of the American Chemical Society, copyright American Chemical Society after peer review. To access the final edited and published work, a link will be provided soon