The search for magnetic materials with interesting properties has become a vast undertaking in the scientific communities. Properties ranging from simple remnant magnetization to quantum tunneling are being explored at a breakneck pace to keep up with the world demand for new materials. One region of magnetic materials which has been getting some particular attention is that of low-dimensional magnetic solids. Low-dimensional solids that exhibit a range of magnetic properties, from magnetic hysteresis to quantum tunneling of magnetization, are sought after for their uses in magnetic data storage and quantum computing. This research is aimed at exploring new low-dimensional magnetic solids of fundamental and technological importance.

Two novel sodium manganese germanates built of 1D features have been synthesized using the high-temperature, molten salt method. The first, Na₂Mn₅(Ge₄O₁₁)₂ (1), has a channeled structure consisting of parallel 3-MnO₆ octahedra-wide chains isolated by chains of interlinked Ge₄O₁₁ rings, essentially creating 1D magnetic species. The second compound, Na_3-x(Mn_3-xGe_x)O₂(Ge₄O₁₂), x = 0.3 (2), contains similar germanate rings as 1, but their connectivity is not that of a chain. In the structure of this compound, the rings are completely separated and connect, at the corners, to chains of alternating manganese oxide dimers and mixed (Mn_1-xGe_x)O₆ octahedra. In this presentation, we will show the synthesis, structural characterization, and magnetic properties of these compounds with respect to spin glasses and magnetic frustration.