Phase diagram of the spinel oxide MnV 2 O 4
Abstract
Magnetization, susceptibility, and heat-capacity measurements were carried out on MnV2O4 ceramic samples. The two main results are as follows: (i) a consistent set of experimental features provides strong support to the existence of two separate transitions in zero-field and (ii) beside the ferrimagnetic transition, the phase diagram in the H−T plane contains two first-order transition (FOT) lines, both connected to the magnetostructural transition temperature in zero field. The new FOT line found at low-H/low-T is discussed in terms of field-induced alignment within the structure of tetragonal domains.