Signature of covalency and disorder on the dielectric and magnetic properties of Ba6Co6ClO16

Hexagonal barium cobalt oxychlorides are an interesting class of materials showing complex interplay between Co-O covalency driven local structural distortions which give rise to strong anomalies in their dielectric and magnetic responses as a function of temperature. The unavoidable presence of oxygen vacancy induces further distortions and frequency dependent fluctuations. Similar instabilities are also found in the title compound Ba6Co6ClO16. These distortions simultaneously affect dielectric and magnetic structure of the compound which may point toward a new pathway to achieve multiferroicity.