Synthesis, Structures, and Magnetic Investigations of Nickel Phosphates: Ni2(PO4)(OH), Ni7(PO4)3(HPO4)(OH)3, and NaNiPO4 Including Potential Haldane Behavior

Three novel nickel-phosphate structures are reported, Ni-2(PO4)(OH) (I), Ni-7(PO4)(3)(HPO4)(OH)(3) (II), and NaNiPO4 (III). Each new system was prepared via a high-temperature hydrothermal synthesis at 600-650 degrees C. All three compounds are built of quasi-one-dimensional (quasi-1-D) Ni2+ containing chains with varying phosphate bridging modes and were characterized by single crystal X-ray diffraction and magnetic susceptibility. All three compounds display very different magnetic behavior. Anisotropic magnetic data is reported for Ni-2(PO4)(OH) (I) exhibiting slow antiferromagnetic ordering in the high-temperature regime with substructures that begin to form below 32 K at different field strengths. These characteristics affirm <bold>I</bold> as being one of the few Haldane-like material candidates. The Ni-7(PO4)(3)(HPO4)(OH)(3) (II) material is a member of the unusual ellenbergerite structural family and displays complex inter- and intrachain magnetic interactions while NaNiPO4 (III) shows antiferromagnetic ordering near 18 K. This magnetic behavior is correlated with their structures