Relaxation processes in a single crystal of Co(NCS) 2 (4-methoxypyridine) 2 spin chain.

A single crystal of [Co(NCS) 2 (4-methoxypyridine) 2 ] n was obtained and investigated. The magnetic measurements performed along three perpendicular crystallographic directions are compared to the results obtained previously for a powder sample. The magnetic inter- and intrachain interactions do not differ, however, a change of the energy barrier of magnetic relaxations is obtained. For the single crystal sample the relaxation is much slower, which is attributed to the presence of longer chains, and show that below the ordering temperature the spin chains relax by the process that involves a single domain wall. Above the ordering temperature, a second relaxation process is observed, for which the relaxation time is temperature independent, indicating a negligible energy barrier. Such phenomenon was previously not observed for any of the powder samples of compounds from the [Co(NCS) 2 (ligand) 2 ] n family.