Evidences for the Formation of Chromium in the Unusual Oxidation State Cr(IV)

Abstract Magnetic measurements on Tl x Cr 5 Se 8 (0≤ x ≤1) reveal that stoichiometric TlCr 5 Se 8 is a three-dimensional antiferromagnet with a Neel temperature T N of about 55 K. In contrast, samples with a reduced Tl content show highly unusual magnetic properties that are without precedent in the literature of magnetically coupled systems: upon lowering the temperature from 300 K the susceptibility reaches a maximum at about 125 K and then steeply drops to a value comparable to that obtained at room temperature. The height of this maximum increases first with decreasing Tl abundance reaching its largest value at a composition Tl 0.2 Cr 5 Se 8 and then decreases again for samples with x 3…