Researchers at Florida State University have engineered a new crystalline material whose atoms organize into unusually complex magnetic patterns. By combining chemically similar materials with competing crystal structures, the team triggered subtle instabilities that gave rise to swirling spin textures linked to emerging data storage and quantum technologies. Credit: Shutterstock

By forcing crystal structures to compete, scientists uncovered a new way to make magnetism twist.

Florida State University scientists have developed a new crystalline material whose magnetic behavior differs sharply from that of conventional magnets, opening potential paths toward advances in data storage and quantum technology.

Reporting their results in the Journal of the American Chemical Society, the team demonstrated that combining two chemically similar materials with distinct crystal structures can produce an entirely new structure. This newly formed material displays magnetic properties unlike those seen in either of the original compounds.

Magnetism arises because atoms behave like tiny magnets, a result of a property called atomic spin. Each spin can be pictured as a small arrow that marks the direction of an atom’s magnetic field. In ordinary magnetic materials, large numbers of these spins line up in an orderly way, either pointing in the same direction or in opposing patterns. This collective alignment gives rise to the familiar magnetism used in devices such as computers and smartphones.

From left, graduate student Ian Campbell and Michael Shatruk, a professor in the FSU Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. Credit: Amy Walden/FSU Arts and Sciences

The Florida State researchers found that their method leads to far more intricate spin arrangements. Rather than lining up uniformly, the atomic spins organize into repeating swirling patterns. These structures, known as spin textures, strongly influence how the material behaves magnetically and set it apart from traditional magnets.

How it works

To create the material, the team blended two compounds that are close in chemical makeup but differ in the symmetry of their crystal structures. When these mismatched structures meet, they generate what scientists call “frustration,” meaning that neither structure is fully stable at the boundary between the two compositions. This instability plays a key role in producing the unusual magnetic patterns observed in the new crystal.

A diagram showing the pattern of repeating swirls of magnetic fields within the material developed by Florida State University researchers. Arrows indicate the direction of the tiny magnetic field produced by each atom within the material. Credit: Ian Campbell

“We thought that maybe this structural frustration would translate into magnetic frustration,’” said co-author Michael Shatruk, a professor in the FSU Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. “If the structures are in competition, maybe that will cause the spins to twist. Let’s find some structures that are chemically very close but have different symmetries.”

They combined a compound of manganese, cobalt and germanium with a compound of manganese, cobalt, and arsenic. Germanium and arsenic are neighbors in the periodic table.

After the mixture solidified into crystals, the research team examined the product and found the distinctive cycloidal spin textures that they were seeking. Such swirls of spins are known as skyrmion-like spin textures, and the search for more ways to find and manipulate skyrmion-hosting materials is a cutting-edge research area within chemistry and physics.

To determine this skyrmion-like magnetic structure, the team collected single-crystal neutron diffraction data on the TOPAZ instrument at the Spallation Neutron Source, a U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science user facility at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

A crystal grown by researchers captured with a scanning electron microscope. Credit: Ian Campbell

Why it matters

This research could be used to develop hard drives with greater information density or improve electron-transport efficiency. Because using magnets to move skyrmions takes little energy, incorporating materials with these magnetic patterns into electronic devices could reduce power consumption. In massive supercomputers with thousands of processors, these lower power loads can lead to huge savings in electrical and cooling costs.

The research could also help point scientists and engineers toward promising materials that can help develop fault-tolerant quantum computing, which can protect fragile quantum information and operate reliably despite errors and noise — the holy grail of quantum information processing.

Ian Campbell synthesizing a new intermetallic magnetic material by using arc-melting technique. Credit: Amy Walden/FSU Arts and Sciences

“With single-crystal neutron diffraction data from TOPAZ and new data-reduction and machine-learning tools from our LDRD project, we can now solve very complex magnetic structures with much greater confidence,” said Xiaoping Wang, a distinguished neutron scattering scientist at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. “That capability lets us move from simply finding unusual spin textures to intentionally designing and optimizing them for future information and quantum technologies.”

‘Chemical Thinking’ and materials by design

Previous research into skyrmions and related complex spin textures has been more like a hunt: considering different materials where these magnetic shapes were likely to be present and measuring their properties to confirm.

This study took a different approach. By creating a new material and leveraging the innovative idea of structural frustration, the researchers sought to better understand the principles that lead to the development of new magnetic patterns.

“It’s chemical thinking, because we’re thinking about how the balance between these structures affects them and the relation between them, and then how it might translate to the relation between atomic spins,” Shatruk said.

That understanding of the fundamental science at work could point to promising directions for future research.

“The idea is to be able to predict where these complex spin textures will appear,” said co-author Ian Campbell, a graduate student in Shatruk’s lab. “Traditionally, physicists will hunt for known materials that already exhibit the symmetry they’re seeking and measure their properties. But that limits the range of possibilities. We’re trying to develop a predictive ability to say, ‘If we add these two things together, we’ll form a completely new material with these desired properties.’”

A benefit of that approach is the ability to expand the ingredient list for making materials that contain skyrmion-like spin textures, allowing for cheaper, easier-to-grow crystals and a more robust supply chain for future technologies that might benefit from such materials.

Reference: “Skyrmion-like Spin Textures Emerging in the Material Derived from Structural Frustration” by YiXu Wang, Ian Campbell, Zachary P. Tener, Judith K. Clark, Jacnel Graterol, Andrei Rogalev, Fabrice Wilhelm, Hu Zhang, Yi Long, Richard Dronskowski, Xiaoping Wang and Michael Shatruk, 12 November 2025, Journal of the American Chemical Society. DOI: 10.1021/jacs.5c12764

This research was supported by the National Science Foundation. The study used facilities at Florida State University and Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

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