Structural, transport and optical properties of (La sub(0.6)Pr sub(0.4)) sub(0.65)Ca sub(0.35)MnO sub(3) nanocrystals: a wide band-gap magnetic semiconductor

• Published in: Dalton transactions : an international journal of inorganic chemistry 2015-02, Vol.44 (7), p.3109-3117
• Main Authors: Kumar, Satyam, Dwivedi, G D, Kumar, Shiv, Mathur, R B, Saxena, U, Ghosh, A K, Joshi, Amish G, Yang, H D, Chatterjee, Sandip
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Austenitic stainless steels; Band spectra; Curie temperature; Devices; Manganese; Semiconductors; Sol gel process; Transport
• ISSN: 1477-9226; 1477-9234
• DOI: 10.1039/c4dt03452j

(La sub(0.6)Pr sub(0.4)) sub(0 .65)Ca sub(0.35)MnO sub(3) system has been synthesized viaa sol-gel route at different sintering temperatures. Structural, transport and optical measurements have been carried out to investigate (La sub(0.6)Pr sub(0.4)) sub(0.65)Ca sub(0.35)MnO sub(3) nanoparticles. Raman spectra show that Jahn-Teller distortion has been decreased due to the presence of Ca and Pr in A-site. Magnetic measurements provide a Curie temperature around 200 K and saturation magnetization (M sub(S)) of about 3.43 mu sub(B)/Mn at 5 K. X-ray photoemission spectroscopy study suggests that Mn exists in a dual oxidation state (Mn super(3+) and Mn super(4+)). Resistivity measurements suggest that charge-ordered states of Mn super(3+) and Mn super(4+), which might be influenced by the presence of Pr, have enhanced insulating behavior in (La sub(0.6)Pr sub(0.4)) sub(0.65)Ca sub(0.35)MnO sub(3). Band gap estimated from UV-Vis spectroscopy measurements comes in the range of wide band gap semiconductors ( similar to 3.5 eV); this makes (La sub(0.6)Pr sub(0.4)) sub(0.65)Ca sub(0.35)MnO sub(3) a potential candidate for device application.