Pressure tuning of magnetism in pseudospin-1/2 honeycomb oxide Na₂Co₂TeO₆

Honeycomb magnets have attracted significant interest because of their potential for realizing exotic magnetic states including the Kitaev quantum spin liquid phase. Among various Kitaev candidates, Na₂Co₂TeO₆ is a d⁷ high-spin compound in which the pseudospin-1/2 Co²⁺ ions form a long-range antiferromagnetic order below ~27 K. As pressure is an effective parameter to tune interactions in many systems, here we study the possibility of tuning the ordered state of Na₂Co₂TeO₆ into a spin disordered or liquid state under the application of hydrostatic pressure up to 13 kbar. Temperature dependence of magnetization at ambient pressure shows a magnetic phase transition at T_N ~27 K, which is followed by a minor kink at T_F~16 K. While pressure has a negligible influence on the magnetic ordering temperature, it reduces the out-of-plane magnetization between 16 K and 27 K. We will further discuss how the pressure influences the in-plane magnetization as well as the critical magnetic field at which a spin-disordered like state is induced.