Absence of magnetic order in dichloro [1,2-bis (diphenylphosphino) ethane] nickel2+ single crystal*

Abstract

Dichloro [1,2-bis (diphenylphosphino) ethane] nickel²⁺ (NiCl₂(dppe)) is an organic compound containing C₂₆H₂₄P₂(dppe) molecules and Cl⁻, Ni²⁺ ions. The large-size NiCl₂(dppe) single crystals with longest dimension of 4 mm were grown by the method of slow evaporation of organic solution. Single crystal x-ray diffraction spectrum indicates that the single crystal is of high quality. Magnetization results of the NiCl₂(dppe) single crystals show an anisotropic paramagnetism behavior and diamagnetic background, which come from Ni²⁺ ions and benzene ring, respectively. However, according to the specific heat results with temperature down to 0.1 K and magnetic field up to 14 T, no expected field-induced quantum phase transition was observed in NiCl₂(dppe) single crystals.