Spin glass behavior in the new amorphous alloys M2SnTe4 (M=Cr,Mn, Fe)

The amorphous alloys M₂SnTe₄ (M=Cr, Mn, Fe) are prepared by a new method involving the oxidation of main group polyanions (Zintl anions) by transition metal cations in solution at or below room temperature. The M₂SnTe₄ materials undergo a transition to a spin glass state at 12 K ? T_f ? 20 K and were characterized by dc magnetization, ⁵⁷Fe and ¹¹⁹Sn Mossbauer and x-ray diffraction measurements as well as the behavior of the remanent magnetization.