In this article we review the effects of magnetic frustation in the stacked triangular lattice. Frustration increases the degeneracy of the ground state, giving rise to different physics. In particular it leads to unique phase diagrams with multicritical points and novel critical phenomena. We describe the confrontation of theory and experiment for a number of systems with differing magnetic Hamiltonians; Heisenberg, Heisenberg with easy-axis anisotropy, Heisenberg with easy-plane anisotropy, Ising and singlet ground state. Interestingly each leads to different magnetic properties and phase diagrams. We also describe the effects of ferromagnetic, rather than antiferromagnetic, stacking and of small distortions of the triangular lattice.

For the spin-chain compound Ca 3 Co 2 O 6 , the magnetization curves as a function of the magnetic field are strongly out-of-equilibrium at low temperature, and they exhibit several steps whose origins are still a matter for debate. In the present paper we report on a detailed investigation of the temperature and time dependence of these features. First, it is found that some of the magnetization steps can disappear as the characteristic time of the measurement is increased. A comparison of the influence of temperature and time points to the existence of a thermally activated process that plays an important role in determining the form of the magnetization curves. Second, direct investigations of the magnetic response as a function of time show that this thermally activated process competes with a second relaxation mechanism of a very different nature, which becomes dominant at the lowest temperatures. These results shed new light on the peculiar magnetization process of this geometrically frustrated, Ising-like spin-chain compound.

The magnetic behavior of the Ca 3 Co 2 O 6 spin chain compound is characterized by a large Ising-like character of its ferromagnetic chains, set on triangular lattice, that are antiferromagnetically coupled. At low temperature, T < 7K, the 3D antiferromagnetic state evolves towards a spin frozen state. In this temperature range, magnetic field driven magnetization of single crystals (H//chains) exhibits stepped variations. The occurrence of these steps at regular intervals of the applied magnetic field, H step =1.2T, is reminiscent of the quantum tunneling of the magnetization (QTM) of molecular based magnets. Magnetization relaxation experiments also strongly support the occurrence of this quantum phenomenon.This first observation of QTM in a magnetic oxide belonging to the large family of the A 3 BB'O 6 compounds opens new opportunities to study a quantum effect in a very different class of materials from molecular magnets.