Driving Curie temperature towards room temperature in the half-metallic ferromagnet K2Cr8O16 by soft redox chemistry.

The half-metallic ferromagnet K(2)Cr(8)O(16) with the hollandite structure has been chemically modified using soft chemistry methods to increase the average oxidation state of chromium. The synthesis of the parent material has been performed under high pressure/high temperature conditions. Following this, different redox reactions have been carried out on K(2)Cr(8)O(16). Oxidation to obtain potassium-de-inserted derivatives, K(2-x)Cr(8)O(16) (0 ≤x≤ 1), has been investigated with electrochemical methods, while the synthesis of sizeable amounts was achieved chemically by using nitrosonium tetrafluoroborate as a highly oxidizing agent. The maximum amount of extracted K ions corresponds to x = 0.8. Upon oxidation the hollandite structure is maintained and the products keep high crystallinity. The de-insertion of potassium changes the Cr(3+)/Cr(4+) ratio, and therefore the magnetic properties. Interestingly, the Curie temperature increases from ca. 175 K to 250 K, getting therefore closer to room temperature.