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. 2017 Nov 27;7(1):16410.
doi: 10.1038/s41598-017-16772-w.

Linear magnetoelectric effect in göthite, α-FeOOH

N V Ter-Oganessian  1 , A A Guda  2 , V P Sakhnenko  3
Affiliations

Linear magnetoelectric effect in göthite, α-FeOOH

N V Ter-Oganessian et al. Sci Rep. .

Abstract

By means of symmetry analysis, density functional theory calculations, and Monte Carlo simulations we show that goethite, α-FeOOH, is a linear magnetoelectric below its Néel temperature T N = 400 K. The experimentally observed magnetic field induced spin-flop phase transition results in either change of direction of electric polarization or its suppression. Estimated value of magnetoelectric coefficient is 0.57 μC · m-2 · T-1. The abundance of goethite in nature makes it arguably the most widespread magnetoelectric material.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
(a) Crystal and magnetic structures of α-FeOOH (blue arrows represent spins) and (b,c) magnetic exchange paths.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Results of Monte Carlo calculations. (a) Temperature dependence of the order parameters A x, A y, and A z. (b) Reciprocal magnetic susceptibility for various directions as function of temperature and a fit with the Curie-Weiss law (solid line). (c) Magnetization and (d) electric polarization at T = 100 K as function of magnetic field.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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