Abstract
We report on synthesis and general physical properties of the solid solutions Nd1-x Ln x NiO3; Ln = Sm, Eu, Gd, Er, Yb; 0 ≤ x ≤ 1. The samples were prepared through sol-gel precursors and were subjected to heat treatments at temperatures T ≤ 1000°C under oxygen pressures as high as 70 atm. From the results of x-ray powder diffraction we have found that all samples studied crystallize in the GdFeO3-type orthorhombically distorted perovskite structure. Structural analysis of Nd1-x Ln x NiO3 compounds revealed that both the tolerance factor t and the Ni—O—Ni bond angle decrease with increasing Ln content. The latter is corrected with the temperature in which the Metal—Insulator (MI) transition develops in these compounds. Characterization of these materials through measurements of electrical resistivity revealed that all samples display the MI transition in a large range of temperature 200 K ≤ T ≤ 450 K. These results have enabled us to mapped out the Mi transition as a function of either the composition and the average ionic radius of Nd1-x Ln x in these series. We also found that it is possible to tune the temperature where the MI transition occurs from 200 to 400 K and have produced several samples with T MI close to room temperature. Finally, we argue that these compounds are very promising for manufacturing pressure sensors to be used at room temperature.
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