STRUCTURE AND MAGNETISM OF AMINE INTERCALATED METAL OXYHALIDES

V. Chen, I. P. Parkin and S. T. Bramwell

Department of Chemistry, University College London, 20 Gordon Street, London, WC1H 0AJ UK

The metal oxychlorides MOX (M = Ti, V, Cr and Fe; X = C;, Br, I) form double layered structures with orthorhombic space group Pmmm and typical cell constants a = 3.8 A, b = 7.9 A, c = 3.3 A. The dense MOX layers are held together by weak Van der Waals forces, which allows intercalation of long chain organic molcules between the layers. Using powder X-ray diffraction, we have investigated the intercalation of alkylamines into MOX with X = Cl, Br and M = Ti, V. The main signature of intercalation is the steady increase of the unit cell b parameter with length of the alkylamine molecule, whilst a and c remain constant. From the increase in interlayer spacing it is possible to deduce the orientation of the intercalated molecules with respect to the host MOX structure. A main motive for this work is to investigate the magnetic properties of the materials as a function of intercalation. We describe in this presentation an overview of our crystallographic and magnetic investigations.