Phase diagram, magnetic properties and specific heat of Mn1-xFexPS3

We have investigated the magnetism and the specific heat of transition metal phosphorous trisulfide Mn1-xFexPS3 and determined the magnetic phase diagram. A spin glass state appears in the range 0.5 <= x <= 0.6. The remarkable feature of this spin glass phase is that the spin freezing is not suppressed up to a rather high magnetic field. Reentrant spin glass states appear in the ranges 0.3 <= x <= 0.45 and 0.6 <= x <= 0.7; antiferrmomagnetic ordered states appear in the ranges 0.0 <= x <= 0.2 and 0.8 <= x <= 1.0. The temperature dependence of the magnetization of the antiferromagnets except x = 0.0 and 1.0 does not approach zero at 0 K. The molar specific heat of W1,Fe,PS3 below 4 K is larger than that of x = 0.0 and 1.0. These results strongly suggest that the spin fluctuation exists in Mn1-xFexPS3 even in the antiferromagnetic ordered state. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.