Magnetic ordering in layered cobalt oxide chalcogenides obtained by soft chemistry

This is a proposal to probe the crystal and magnetic structures of a series of layered oxychalcogenides containing infinite CoO2 layers in which the electron count and structural details are tuned using soft chemistry. Changes in magnetic ordering (structure and size of ordered moment) will be determined as a function of composition in members of the series AE2CoO2(Li1-x(Cu/Ag)x)2Ch2 (AE = Sr, Ba, Ch = S, Se) with formal Co oxidation states ranging from +2 to +3 for Co ions in unusual highly elongated octahedral environments.