Canted antiferromagnetism in polar MnSiN2 with high Néel temperature

Ternary nitrides are a burgeoning materials class hosting diverse structures, compositions, and properties that make them appealing for various applications. Magnetic nitrogen-rich compounds generally remain underexplored, despite the unique chemical bonding afforded by the N${}^{3\ensuremath{-}}$ ion with open d-shell transition metals. Here, the authors explore the compound MnSiN${}_{2}$ where Mn${}^{2+}$ ions reside on a 3D diamond-like covalent network with strong magnetic superexchange pathways. The compound exhibits a high N\'eel ordering temperature of T${}_{N}$ = 443 K and the precise canted ground state magnetic structure is resolved using a combination of DFT modeling and powder neutron diffraction.