Electronic and local atomic structures of(La1−xPrx)0.85Zr0.15MnO3 studied by x-ray absorption spectroscopy

Abstract

Mn L3,2-, K-,O K- and Pr M5,4-edge x-ray absorption near-edge structure (XANES) spectra of(La1−xPrx)0.85Zr0.15MnO3 (LPZMO)with x = 0, 0.05, 0.1, 0.15 and 0.2 were measured to study the electronicstructure and the effect of Pr substitution. An analysis of MnL3,2- and K-edge spectra indicates that LPZMO is an electron-doped system. Pr substitution isfound to increase the average effective charge of Mn ions and to induce an additionalunoccupied majority spin ( spin) eg subband in theMn L3,2-edge XANESspectrum. Mn L3,2-, O K- and Pr M5,4-edge XANES results demonstrate that the substitution of La ions by smaller Pr ions changesO 2p–Mn 3d and O 2p–Pr 4f hybridized states. Extended x-ray absorption fine structure(EXAFS) analysis at the Mn K edge reveals clear changes in local atomic structure around Mnions due to the Pr substitution. XANES and EXAFS analyses show a small distortion in theMnO6 octahedron or a disorder in the lattice, which may be due to localization of charge carriersand/or the increased effective positive charge of Mn ions.