Effect of Zn Substitution on the Structural and Physical Properties of Delafossite-Type Oxide CuCrO2

In this paper, we report the effect of non-magnetic Zn-doped CuCrO2. The structure, Raman spectroscopy, magnetic properties, dielectric permittivity, and electric polarization have been investigated. The incorporation of Zn2+ generates very anisotropic microstrains in the structure. The temperature dependence of magnetic susceptibly for all samples exhibits a magnetic dilution and paramagnetic behavior at high temperature. It is argued that non-magnetic substitution destabilizes the antiferromagnetic order of Cr3+ ions and modulates the spin configuration. The coupling between the magnetic order, dielectric permittivity and polarization is also characterized.