A novel representative in the rare family of trivanadates, KMn2V3O10: synthesis, crystal structure and magnetic properties

Potassium dimanganese trivanadate, KMn2V3O10, was synthesized hydro­thermally and its crystal structure was determined from single-crystal X-ray diffraction data. The novel phase crystallizes with triclinic symmetry in space group P\bar 1 with unit-cell parameters of a = 6.912 (5), b = 6.993 (5), c = 9.656 (5) A, α = 101.858 (5), β = 102.627 (5), γ = 100.669 (5)°, Z = 2 and V = 432.6 (5) A3. Its structure is built from tetramers of MnO6 octahedra sharing edges and trimers of VO4 tetrahedra sharing vertices. These main structural fragments are linked in a three-dimensional framework with channels occupied by potassium ions. The transformation of this structure to that of interconnected NaCa3Mn(V3O10)(V2O7) is discussed. The title compound orders antiferromagnetically at TN = 8.2 K due to the magnetic exchange interactions between tetramers of Mn octahedra through VO4 tetrahedra. First-principles calculations show the magnetic couplings via Mn—O—Mn and Mn—O—V—O—Mn pathways.