Successive Short- and Long-Range Magnetic Ordering in Ba2Mn3(SeO3)6 with Honeycomb Layers of Mn3+ Ions Alternating with Triangular Layers of Mn2+ Ions

Mixed-valent Ba2Mn2+Mn23+(SeO3)(6) crystallizes in a monoclinic P2(1)/c structure and has honeycomb layers of Mn3+ ions alternating with triangular layers of Mn2+ ions. We established the key parameters governing its magnetic structure by magnetization M and specific heat C-p measurements. The title compound exhibits a close succession of a short-range correlation order at T-corr = 10.1 +/- 0.1 K and a long-range Neel order at T-N = 5.7 +/- 0.1 K, and exhibits a metamagnetic phase transition at T < T-N with hysteresis most pronounced at low temperatures. The causes for these observations were found using the spin exchange parameters evaluated by density functional theory calculations. The title compound represents a unique case in which uniform chains of integer spin Mn3+ (S = 2) ions interact with those of half-integer spin Mn2+ (S = 5/2) ions.