Canted Antiferromagnetism on Rectangular Layers of Fe²⁺ in Polymorphic CaFeSeO

From stoichiometric amounts of CaO, Fe, and Se, pure powders and single crystals of quaternary Ca_∞²[FeSe_2/2O_2/2] can be obtained by solid-state reaction and self-flux growth, respectively. The as-synthesized compound exhibits a polymorphic crystal structure, where the two modifications have different stacking sequences of _∞²[FeSe_2/2O_2/2]^2- layers. The two polymorphs have similar unit cells but different crystal symmetries (Cmc2₁ and Pnma), of which the former is non-centrosymmetric. Fe is divalent (d⁶) and high-spin, as proven by X-ray spectroscopy, Mössbauer spectroscopy, and powder neutron diffraction data. The latter two, in combination with magnetic susceptibility and specific heat data, reveal a long-range antiferromagnetic spin order (T_N = 160 K) with a minor spin canting. CaFeSeO is an electronic insulator, as confirmed by resistivity measurements and density functional theory calculations. The latter also suggest a relatively small energy difference between the two polymorphs, explaining their intimate intergrowth.