Soft Magnetic Switching in a FeSr2YCu2O7.85 Superconductor with Unusually High Iron Valence.

Ozone oxidation has allowed the stabilization of a very high iron oxidation state in the FeSr2YCu2O7.85 cuprate, in which a long-range magnetic ordering of the high valent iron cations coexists with the superconducting interactions (magnetic ordering temperature TN = 110 K > superconducting critical temperature Tc = 70 K). The somewhat unexpected A-type AFM structure, with a µ(Fe) ∼ 2 µB magnetic saturation moment associated with the hypervalent iron sublattice, suggests an unusual low spin state for the iron cations, while the low dimensionality of the magnetic structure results in a soft switching toward ferromagnetism under small external magnetic fields. The role of the crystal structure and of the high charge concentration in the stabilization of this unusual electronic configuration for the iron cations is discussed.