Local structural distortions drive magnetic molecular field in compositionally complex spinel oxide.

ABSTRACT: Understanding how local distortions determine the functional properties of high entropy materials, containing five or more elements at the same crystallographic site, is an open challenge. We address this for a compositionally complex spinel oxide (Mn_0.2Co_0.2Ni_0.2Cu_0.2Zn_0.2)Cr₂O₄ (A⁵Cr₂O₄). By comparatively examining extended X-ray absorption fine structure on A⁵Cr₂O₄ and its parent counterparts, ACr₂O_4, along with density functional theory calculations for multiple configurations, we find that the element-specific distortions go beyond the first neighbor. Specifically, the strong Jahn-Teller distortion present in CuCr₂

SUBMITTER: Nevgi R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12313874 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature