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Abstract:
We have synthesized single crystals of dolerophanite Cu2OSO4 by means of chemical vapor transport and studied the direction-dependent magnetic susceptibility and dielectric properties of this low-dimensional S = 1/2 system. Below the magnetic ordering temperature of similar to 20 K, we observe an unusually strong ferromagnetic component of roughly 1/4 mu(B) per Cu2+ ion along the b direction, parallel to the zigzag chains of copper-oxygen square plaquettes. It is also remarkable that the onset of magnetic ordering can be enhanced by about 20% if an external magnetic field is applied along the direction of these chains.