ELEMENTARY CHARGE DOPING OF IRIDATE COMPLEXES: AN INVESTIGATION OF THE EFFECTS OF SPIN-ORBIT COUPLING ON THE ELECTRONIC AND MAGNETIC STRUCTURES OF SYSTEMS WITH ISOLATED IrO\(_{6}\) OCTAHEDRA

Abstract

Iridium oxide (iridate) compounds are of emerging importance due to their prospect in the ongoing pursuit to find fundamentally new electronic states as well as their potential applicability to novel, low-dissipation, electronic/magnetoelectronic technologies. Solid-state chemists and physicists are particularly fascinated by these compounds as they can be used to model fundamental, quantum spin interactions, such as spin orbit coupling. I developed a model system of isolated IrO6 octahedra and used magnetic moments to explore the change in electronic structure when tuning from a 5d5 Ir+4 state to a 5d4 Ir+5 state, a predicted transition from a 𝐽=1/2 to a 𝐽=0 iridium magnetic state under strong spin-orbit coupling. Based on our findings, I provide significant evidence to indicate that spin orbit coupling is a dominant factor in determining the electronic and magnetic structure in ideal IrO6 containing compounds. However, as we deviate from the ideal case, a more complex interplay emerges between crystal field effects and spin-orbit coupling.