Electron spin resonance and quantum critical phenomena in VO_x multiwall nanotubes

Abstract Basing on the high frequency (60 GHz) electron spin resonance study of the VO_x multiwall nanotubes (VO_x ‐NTs) carried out in the temperature range 4.2–200 K we report: (i) the first direct experimental evidence of the presence of the antiferromagnetic dimers in VO_x ‐NTs and (ii) the observation of an anomalous low temperature growth of the magnetic susceptibility for quasi‐free spins, which obey the power law χ (T)∼1/T ^α with the exponent α ≈ 0.6 in a wide temperature range 4.2–50 K. We argue that the observed departures from the Curie–Weiss behaviour manifest the onset of the quantum critical regime and formation of the Griffiths phase as a magnetic ground state of these spin species. (© 2008 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)