Evaluation of rare earth substitution in the structural and magnetic properties of the REBa1-xSrxCuFeO5 (x = 0.0, 0.25 and 0.5) system

Abstract

YBaCuFeO5 double perovskite has received attention because it is one of the few materials with the possibility to be multiferroic at room temperature. It is possible to explore such properties by partially replacing yttrium (Y) with rare earth elements (RE) or varying the chemical pressure of the system by replacing Ba with Sr. The synthesis and characterization of the new materials with the formula REBa1-xSrxCuFeO5, using the solid-state reaction method is reported. The results show that RE substitution allows the growth of single-phase materials, with tetragonal structure and symmetry P4mm. The morphological results evidence a consistent morphology by using the synthesis method. The magnetization curves in a temperature range of 50 to 380 K show, for the RE = Y system, a magnetic phase transitions at high temperature (<250 K). However, no magnetic transition was observed for compounds doped with RE = Ho, Dy, and Gd.