Metamagnetism and kinetic arrest in a long-range ferromagnetically ordered multicaloric double perovskite Y2CoMnO6

Abstract

A systematic magnetic study of the double perovskite oxide Y2CoMnO6 (YCMO) has been performed. A monoclinic P21/n phase of YCMO was synthesized using a sol-gel method. Neutron diffraction (ND) measurements evidence the onset of long-range ferromagnetic (FM) ordering at TC ~ 76 K, which persists down to 5 K. The presence of 25% antisite disorder, estimated from the ND data, leads to the appearance of short-range antiferromagnetic (AFM) interactions. The existence of thermal hysteresis due to competing interactions between FM and AFM phases is observed in the M vs. T measurements. The pinning of magnetic domain walls at the Co/Mn antiphase boundaries results in a metamagnetic-like behavior. The field dependence of thermomagnetic irreversibility and the nature of virgin curves indicate the occurrence of a kinetic arrest phenomenon, which is further verified via cooling and heating of the system in an unequal fields (CHUF) protocol. In full agreement with the ND data, a detailed analysis of critical exponents near the paramagnetic (PM)-FM phase transition also establishes YCMO as a long-range interacting mean-field system. A careful examination of the temperature- and field-dependent magnetic entropy change yields an in-depth understanding of coexisting magnetically ordered and disordered phases in YCMO, leading to a comprehensive magnetic phase diagram of this multifunctional double perovskite system.