Pronounced Site Preference in Cr-Doped Mn-Based M-Type Hexaferrites and Its Chemical Origins
Abstract
Cation distribution plays a critical role in determining the properties of crystalline oxides. Understanding the chemical factors that govern cation distribution is therefore essential for the rational design of cation-ordered materials, particularly frustrated magnets in which structural disorder can strongly affect the magnetic ground state. Here, we investigate the origin and evolution of cation distribution in the extensively studied M-type hexaferrite structure using the first Mn-based M-type hexaferrite, KSb3Mn9O19, as a model system. A systematic Cr3+-doped series, KSb3(Mn1-xCrx)9O19, was examined using powder and single-crystal X-ray diffraction, electron microscopy, and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. Cr3+ exhibits a pronounced preference for the Mn Kagome sublattice, accompanied by the evolution of Mn vacancies and Mn3+/Sb3+ disorder on neighboring sites. Analysis of the local coordination environments and their evolution with Cr content suggests that crystal-field effects, chemical bonding, and local structural strain collectively govern this site selectivity. The magnetic properties of the Cr-doped compounds show similar behaviors as the undoped parent compound, other than the doping-induced spin-glass state at the highest Cr concentration, supported by heat capacity measurements. These results establish a chemical picture of cation site distribution and selection in M-type hexaferrites and demonstrate how substitution at one crystallographic site can induce coupled redistribution and disorder across neighboring sublattices. Moreover, this work establishes local coordination chemistry as a route toward understanding and ultimately controlling cation distribution in complex oxides, providing chemical design principles for structurally well-defined frustrated magnetic materials.
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BibTeX
@misc{correll2026pronounced,
title = {{Pronounced Site Preference in Cr-Doped Mn-Based M-Type Hexaferrites and Its Chemical Origins}},
author = {Dylan Correll and Susheng Tan and Evan Wang and Xin Gui},
howpublished = {arXiv},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2609.37720},
eprint = {2609.37720},
archivePrefix = {arXiv},
url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.37720},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Pronounced Site Preference in Cr-Doped Mn-Based M-Type Hexaferrites and Its Chemical Origins
AU - Dylan Correll
AU - Susheng Tan
AU - Evan Wang
AU - Xin Gui
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/29
PB - arXiv
DO - 10.48550/arxiv.2609.37720
UR - https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.37720
AB - Cation distribution plays a critical role in determining the properties of crystalline oxides. Understanding the chemical factors that govern cation distribution is therefore essential for the rational design of cation-ordered materials, particularly frustrated magnets in which structural disorder can strongly affect the magnetic ground state. Here, we investigate the origin and evolution of cation distribution in the extensively studied M-type hexaferrite structure using the first Mn-based M-type hexaferrite, KSb3Mn9O19, as a model system. A systematic Cr3+-doped series, KSb3(Mn1-xCrx)9O19, was examined using powder and single-crystal X-ray diffraction, electron microscopy, and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. Cr3+ exhibits a pronounced preference for the Mn Kagome sublattice, accompanied by the evolution of Mn vacancies and Mn3+/Sb3+ disorder on neighboring sites. Analysis of the local coordination environments and their evolution with Cr content suggests that crystal-field effects, chemical bonding, and local structural strain collectively govern this site selectivity. The magnetic properties of the Cr-doped compounds show similar behaviors as the undoped parent compound, other than the doping-induced spin-glass state at the highest Cr concentration, supported by heat capacity measurements. These results establish a chemical picture of cation site distribution and selection in M-type hexaferrites and demonstrate how substitution at one crystallographic site can induce coupled redistribution and disorder across neighboring sublattices. Moreover, this work establishes local coordination chemistry as a route toward understanding and ultimately controlling cation distribution in complex oxides, providing chemical design principles for structurally well-defined frustrated magnetic materials.
ER -