Correlated disorder and crystal structure of beta-VOSO4

Pauflerite beta-VOSO4 has recently been identified as a one-dimensional S = 1/2 Heisenberg system, of interest both from a fundamental point of view and a potential material for future spintronics applications. The observation of diffuse scattering in a synthetic beta-VOSO4 provides a microscopic interpretation of the underlying correlated disorder, which is linked to the inversion of the short-long V-O distance pairs along VO6 chains, forming a local defect state. Direct Monte Carlo modeling indicates that such defects form thin layers with a positive inter-layer correlation, forming small domains with inverted vanadyl bonding patterns. Two-dimensional defects in anisotropic magnetic systems may perturb, or even destroy, long-range magnetic ordering leading to unusual interactions. In particular, the lack of inversion symmetry in the defect layers opens up the possibility for the Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction (DMI) and, consequently, chiral magnetism localized in the defect planes. The defect beta-VOSO4 structure, therefore, opens up new possibilities for the study of low-dimensional magnetic systems.