Synthesis and magnetism of a Li2FeSiO4 single crystal

A macroscopic single crystal of gamma(II)-Li2FeSiO4 has been grown by means of the high-pressure optical floating-zone technique. Static magnetic susceptibility chi implies that the tetrahedrally-coordinated Fe2+ ions are in the high-spin, S = 2, state. While a sharp decrease in chi implies long-range antiferromagnetic order below T-N = 17.0(5) K, the presence of a broad maximum at T-m = 28 K suggests quasi-low-dimensional magnetism. Applying magnetic fields along the easy magnetic a-axis yields additional contributions to the susceptibility. partial derivative M/partial derivative B and magnetostriction for B > 7 T, and an anomaly at B approximate to 14.8 T.