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technical paper
Optimization of electronic correlations and magnetism in SrCo2As2 via hole doping
The Co-based tetragonal compounds ACo2As2 (A = Ca, Sr, Ba & K) crystallize in ThCr2Si2-type structure and exhibit properties that delicately depend upon the interlayer As-As distance dAs-As which regulates the oxidation state of Co-ions by controlling the extent of the interlayer As-As bonds. As a result, it indirectly controls the magnetic ground state of these materials. BaCo2As2, which has a large value of dAs-As = 3.78 Å, shows a nonmagnetic ground state 1. On the other hand, CaCo2As2 with dAs-As = 2.73 Å exhibits an A-type collinear antiferromagnetic (AFM) ordering below its Nèel temperature 2. SrCo2As2 with dAs-As = 3.33 Å, intermediate to those of its Ca and Ba analogs, shows no evidence of long-range magnetic ordering but develops stripe-type AFM as well as ferromagnetic spin fluctuations 3,4. Another recently explored compound KCo2As2, where the dAs-As = 4.08 Å is largest among this series, exhibits a suppressed non-magnetic ground state 5. These observations collectively suggest that increasing the interlayer Co-ion distance reduces the magnetic character within the ACo2As2 system. In this work, we explore the combined effect of the change of electron count as well as the increase in dAs-As introduced through the partial substitution of Sr-ions with K-ions in the Sr1-xKxCo2As2 system. We report on the magnetic characteristics and electron transport properties of this hole-doped system and explore the interdependency of structural parameters, charge density and many-body interactions within the material.