Low-field magnetic study on the LixNi1-xO system

A series of polycrystalline LixNi1-xO is prepared by a solid-state route for x ranging from 0.1 to 0.5. The Rietveld profile refinement of x-ray powder-diffraction data shows that the samples with x greater than or equal to 0.3 apparently possess two types of atomic arrangement in the cationic plane in a direction perpendicular to the cubic [111] direction of the parent cubic lattice of NiO. Low-field linear and nonlinear ac susceptibility and dc magnetization measurements show the importance of the ordering of cations in the magnetic properties. The history dependence of de magnetization, field and frequency dependence of linear and nonlinear ac susceptibility as well as the divergence of nonlinear ac susceptibility allow us to infer a spin-glass-like phase in the samples with x=0.3 and 0.35.