Effect of silver solubility on the structural, electrical, and magnetic properties of multiferroic LiCu<inf>2</inf>O<inf>2</inf>

Platelike single crystals up to 4 × 8 × 8 mm in dimensions have been grown by slowly cooling Li<inf>2</inf>O · 4(1 - x)CuO · 4xAgNO<inf>3</inf> (0 ≤ x ≤ 0.5) melts. X-ray diffraction and X-ray spectroscopy characterization has shown that the crystals are isostructural with LiCu<inf>2</inf>O<inf>2</inf> and contain up to 4 at % Ag (relative to the Cu atoms). The addition of silver to lithium cuprate crystals increases their electrical conductivity by about three orders of magnitude, has little effect on the temperature behavior of their magnetic moment M(T) at T < 50 K, and suppresses anomalies in M(T) in the 150 K region. © 2015 Pleiades Publishing, Ltd.