Spin-glass-like behavior in rhombohedral Li[Li(1/3−x/3)Mn(2/3−2x/3)Nix]O2 (x = 0.4)

Although the electrochemical performance of Li[Li(1/3−x/3)Mn(2/3−2x/3)Nix]O2 (x = 0.4) has been widely studied, the basic understanding of the physical properties is of significant interest. In this paper Li[Li(1/3−x/3)Mn(2/3−2x/3)Nix]O2 (x = 0.4) is prepared by citrate precursor method and the spin-glass state of the sample is studied by dc magnetization measurements. The ZFC/FC curves of Li0.2Ni0.4Mn0.4O2 show a strong irreversibility behavior and Tirr shifts to lower temperature with the increase of applied magnetic field. Together with de Almeida-Thouless (AT) line analysis, spin-glass-like state is suggested to be the ground state of Li0.2Ni0.4Mn0.4O2. In addition, the origin of spin-glass-like behavior in Li0.2Ni0.4Mn0.4O2 is suggested to result from the short-range structure disorder rather than the geometrical frustration.