Spin Frustration in 2D Kagomé Lattices: A Problem for Inorganic Synthetic Chemistry

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Abstract
A kagomé antiferromagnet presents an ideal construct for studying the unusual physics that result from the placement of magnetically frustrated spins on a low-dimensional lattice. Jarosites are the prototype for a spin-frustrated magnetic structure, because these materials are composed exclusively of kagomé layers. Notwithstanding, jarosite-type materials have escaped precise magnetic characterization over the past three decades, because they are notoriously difficult to prepare in pure and single-crystal forms. These hurdles have been overcome with the development of redox-based hydrothermal methods. Armed with pure and crystalline materials, several perplexing issues surrounding the magnetic properties of the jarosites have been resolved, yielding a detailed and comprehensive picture of the ground-state physics of this kagomé lattice.