Crystal and magnetic study of the disordered perovskites Ca(Mn0.5Sb0.5)O3 and Ca(Fe0.5Sb0.5)O3

Abstract

Abstract We have investigated the double perovskites Ca 2 MSbO 6 (M = Mn, Fe) that have been prepared by solid-state reaction (M = Fe) and wet chemistry procedures (M = Mn). The crystal and magnetic structures have been studied from X-ray (XRD) and neutron powder diffraction (NPD) data. Rietveld refinements show that the crystal structures are orthorhombic (space group Pbnm ) with complete disorder of M and Sb cations, so the formula should be rewritten as Ca(M 0.5 Sb 0.5 )O 3 . Due to this disorder no evidences of Jahn–Teller distortion can be observed in the MnO 6 octahedra of Ca(Mn 0.5 Sb 0.5 )O 3 , in contrast with the ordered double perovskite Sr 2 MnSbO 6 . Ca(Fe 0.5 Sb 0.5 )O 3 behaves as an antiferromagnet with an ordered magnetic moment for Fe 3+ of 1.53(4) μ B and a propagation vector k = 0, as investigated by low-temperature NPD. The antiferromagnetic ordering is a result of the high degree of Fe/Sb anti-site disorder of the sample, which originates the spontaneous formation of Fe-rich islands, characterized by the presence of strong Fe–O–Fe antiferromagnetic couplings with enough long-range coherence to produce a magnetic contribution perceptible by NPD. By contrast, the magnetic structure of Ca(Mn 0.5 Sb 0.5 )O 3 cannot be observed by low-temperature NPD because the magnitude of the ordered magnetic moments is below the detection threshold for neutrons.