Magnetic properties of the spin-1 chain compound NiCl$_3$C$_6$H$_5$CH$_2$CH$_2$NH$_3$

Abstract: We report experimental results of the static magnetization, ESR and NMR spectroscopic measurements of the Ni-hybrid compound NiCl$3$C$_6$H$_5$CH$_2$CH$_2$NH$_3$. In this material NiCl$_3$ octahedra are structurally arranged in chains along the crystallographic $a$-axis. According to the static susceptibility and ESR data Ni$^{2+}$ spins $S = 1$ are isotropic and are coupled antiferromagnetically (AFM) along the chain with the exchange constant $J = 25.5$ K. These are important prerequisites for the realization of the so-called Haldane spin-1 chain with the spin-singlet ground state and a quantum spin gap. However, experimental results evidence AFM order at $T{\rm N} \approx 10$ K presumably due to small interchain couplings. Interestingly, frequency-, magnetic field-, and temperature-dependent ESR measurements, as well as the NMR data, reveal signatures which could presumably indicate an inhomogeneous ground state of co-existent mesoscopically spatially separated AFM ordered and spin-singlet state regions similar to the situation observed before in some spin-diluted Haldane magnets.