ZnV2O4: On the Border of Disorder

The frustrated spinel ZnV2O4 is a material where chemical and magnetic (dis)orders are deeply intertwined. We have prepared two powder samples, one via a sintering method and the other via a microwave-assisted route (MW). Previously, we performed a high-resolution diffraction measurement on ID22 which revealed that the MW sample remained cubic down to 4 K whereas the sintered sample underwent a phase transition below 35 K. We also observed significant diffuse scattering below the Bragg peaks of both samples, and that the peaks of our sintered sample are inherently broad (at least 2x broader than the MW sample), both of which indicate local structural disorder. Following on from these results, we now wish to perform a full total scattering experiment on ID22. Together with our high-resolution data, this will allow us to explore the average and local structures of our two samples, and understand why only one has a phase transition, and the impact this has on the magnetic ground state.