Effect of Nonmagnetic Impurity Doped on the Structural and Magnetic Properties of Quasi-one-dimensional Antiferromagnet LiCuVO4

Zn²⁺ ions doped quasi-one-dimensional spin-chain materials LiCu_1-xZn_xVO₄(x=0, 0.1, 0.2) were prepared by solid-state reaction and the effect of nonmagnetic Zn²⁺ ions on the crystal structure, valence state and magnetic properties of them were studied by X^-ray diffraction(XRD), X^-ray photoelectron spectroscopy(XPS) and dc magnetization. The elongation of a and b axes and the shrinkage of c axis indicate a reduced effect of the Jahn-Teller distortion after Zn²⁺ ions doping, while the valence state of transition metal ions in LiCu_1-xZn_xVO₄ remains unchanged since the equivalence doping of Zn²⁺ ions on the Cu²⁺ sites. The corrected Bonner-Fisher equation fitting to the susceptibility indicates that isolated dimers and spins are created along with the departure from infinite spin chains to finite ones.