Organic layered charge-transfer salts $\kappa$ -(BEDT-TTF) ${}_{2}X$ form highly frustrated lattices of molecular dimers in which strong correlations give rise to Mott insulating states situated close to the metal-to-insulator phase boundary. The salts $\kappa$ -(BEDT-TTF) ${}_2$ Cu ${}_2$ (CN) ${}_3$ and $\kappa$ -(BEDT-TTF) ${}_2$ Ag ${}_2$ (CN) ${}_3$ have been considered as prime candidates for a quantum spin liquid, while $\kappa$ -(BEDT-TTF) ${}_2$ Cu[N(CN) ${}_2$ ]Cl has been suggested as a prototypical charge-order-driven antiferromagnet. In this paper, we summarize and discuss several key results, including some not reported previously, obtained in search to clarify the competition of these two ground states. The origin of anomalous dielectric response found at low temperatures in all three salts is also discussed. We conclude by pointing out the relevant new insights into the role of frustration and random disorder in the suppression of magnetic ordering and formation of the spin liquid state.

The search for and understanding of low-dimensional magnetic materials is essential for both fundamental and technological purposes. Here we propose a combined experimental and theoretical investigation of such a system, namely the monoclinic phase of ${\mathrm{SeCuO}}_3$. This low-dimensional spin-$\frac{1}{2}$ antiferromagnet appears to be based on two decoupled magnetic subsystems which respond differently to applied magnetic field in the antiferromagnetic phase. From our results we are able to propose a zero-field magnetic structure as well as a more exotic finite magnetic field structure, to be tested by future experiments. This finding is based on torque magnetometry measurements on the one side, and the use of a refined phenomenological model and state-of-the-art density functional theory calculations on the other. The existence of such systems opens a way to very exciting physics with the possibility to control separately two magnetic subsystems in one material.

The influence of structural defects in spark plasma sintered BaSn_1-xSb_xO₃ (BSSO, x = 0.00 and 0.08) ceramic samples on their electrical properties was investigated in the temperature range of 300–4 K. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) revealed the presence of point defects, primarily oxygen vacancies (V_O) and mixed oxidation states of tin (Sn²⁺/Sn⁴⁺) in both samples. As a result, the undoped BSSO sample exibited a non-standard semiconductor behavior, retaining its temperature-dependent resistivity. The electrical resistivity of the doped samples was two orders of magnitude lower than that of the undoped sample. The presence of structural defects such as V_O, mixed oxidation states of the constituent elements, and significant amounts of O⁻ species make the electrical resistivity of the doped sample constant in the temperature range of 300–70 K, indicating heavily-doped semiconductor behavior.

Transparent conducting oxides (TCO) with high electrical conductivity and at the same time high transparency in the visible spectrum are an important class of materials widely used in many devices requiring a transparent contact such as light-emitting diodes, solar cells and display screens. Since the improvement of electrical conductivity usually leads to degradation of optical transparency, a fine-tuning sample preparation process and a better understanding of the correlation between structural and transport properties is necessary for optimizing the properties of TCO for use in such devices. Here we report a structural and magnetotransport study of tin oxide (SnO₂), a well-known and commonly used TCO, prepared by a simple and relatively cheap Atmospheric Pressure Chemical Vapour Deposition (APCVD) method in the form of thin films deposited on soda-lime glass substrates. The thin films were deposited at two different temperatures (which were previously found to be close to optimum for our setup), 590 °C and 610 °C, and with (doped) or without (undoped) the addition of fluorine dopants. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Grazing Incidence X-ray Diffraction (GIXRD) revealed the presence of inhomogeneity in the samples, on a bigger scale in form of grains (80–200 nm), and on a smaller scale in form of crystallites (10–25 nm). Charge carrier density and mobility extracted from DC resistivity and Hall effect measurements were in the ranges 1–3 × 10²⁰ cm⁻³ and 10–20 cm²/Vs, which are typical values for SnO₂ films, and show a negligible temperature dependence from room temperature down to −269 °C. Such behaviour is ascribed to grain boundary scattering, with the interior of the grains degenerately doped (i.e., the Fermi level is situated well above the conduction band minimum) and with negligible electrostatic barriers at the grain boundaries (due to high dopant concentration). The observed difference for factor 2 in mobility among the thin-film SnO₂ samples most likely arises due to the difference in the preferred orientation of crystallites (texture coefficient).

The search for new materials for energy-efficient electronic devices has gained unprecedented importance. Among the various classes of magnetic materials driving this search are antiferromagnets, magnetoelectrics, and systems with topological spin excitations. ${\mathrm{Cu}}_3{\mathrm{TeO}}_6$ is a material that belongs to all three of these classes. Combining static electric polarization and magnetic torque measurements with phenomenological simulations we demonstrate that magnetic-field-induced spin reorientation needs to be taken into account to understand the linear magnetoelectric effect in ${\mathrm{Cu}}_3{\mathrm{TeO}}_6$. Our calculations reveal that the magnetic field pushes the system from the nonpolar ground state to the polar magnetic structures. However, nonpolar structures only weakly differing from the obtained polar ones exist due to the weak effect that the field-induced breaking of some symmetries has on the calculated structures. Among those symmetries is the $PT$ (${\overline{1}}^{\prime }$) symmetry, preserved for Dirac points found in ${\mathrm{Cu}}_3{\mathrm{TeO}}_6$. Our findings establish ${\mathrm{Cu}}_3{\mathrm{TeO}}_6$ as a promising playground to study the interplay of spintronics-related phenomena.

Vector-chiral (VC) antiferromagnetism is a spiral-like ordering of spins which may allow ferroelectricity to occur due to loss of space inversion symmetry. In this Letter we report direct experimental observation of ferroelectricity in the VC phase of $\beta -\mathrm{Te}\mathrm{V}{\mathrm{O}}_4$, a frustrated spin chain system with pronounced magnetic anisotropy and a rich phase diagram. Saturation polarization is proportional to neutron scattering intensities that correspond to the VC magnetic reflection. This implies that an inverse Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya mechanism is responsible for driving electric polarization. Linear magnetoelectric coupling is absent; however an unprecedented dependence of electric coercive field on applied magnetic field reveals a distinct way of manipulating multiferroic information.