Growth and characterization of Fe1 − xMxVO4 single crystals (M = Al, Cr, Co, Ga)

Triclinic Fe1 − xMxVO4 single crystals (M = Al, Ga, Co, Cr) have been grown by the flux method from systems based on PbO-V2O5. Their crystallographic parameters are determined by powder X-ray diffraction. Fe1 − xGaxVO4 single crystals (x = 0–0.3) with a volume more than 1cm3 are grown using the seeding technique. The temperature and field dependences of magnetization and magnetic susceptibility of the grown Fe1 − xGaxVO4 and Fe1 − xAlxVO4 single crystals (x = 0.3 in the solution-melt) are reported. It is shown that the magnetizations of these crystals exceed that of FeVO4, and both of their antiferromagnetic phase transitions are shifted to lower temperatures.