Electronic instabilities and irradiation effects in the (TMTTF)2X series

The paper presents a single-crystal ESR study of a series of pristine and X-ray irradiated (TMTTF)2X salts, where TMTTF is tetramethyltetrathiafulvalene and X is either a centro-symmetrical (SbF6 and Br) or a non-centro-symmetrical (ReO4, ClO4, BF4, SCN and NO3) monovalent anion. Besides standard line-width and spin-susceptibility measurements, the analysis of the asymmetry of the ESR line shape allows to obtain simultaneous information on the electrical conductivity. This whole set of data is used to determine the charge and spin gaps related to the charge ordering (CO) and anion ordering (AO) ground states and their evolution as a function of X-ray irradiation damages. We show in particular that the sensibility of (TMTTF)2X salts to irradiation depends upon the nature of the anion X and that the CO ground state is drastically affected by irradiation damages at the difference of the AO ground state. We also present evidence of a CO transition and of a decoupling between the AO transition and the opening of a spin gap in (TMTTF)2NO3