Magnetic hysteresis mechanism in Lu0.9Sr0.1Cr0.5Fe0.5O3studied by Monte Carlo simulations.

In this work we report magnetic properties of the orthorhombic perovskite Lu0.9Sr0.1Cr0.5Fe0.5O3synthesized by a wet chemical method. As in LuCr0.5Fe0.5O3the compound with Sr shows the magnetization reversal phenomenon, but the magnetic order and the compensation temperature occur at higher temperatures. Interestingly, in M vs H curves a hysteresis loop is observed when Cr4+and Cr3+ions coexist as a consequence of the aliovalent substitution of Lu3+by Sr2+in the B sites of the perovskite. To explain this behavior, we performed numerical simulations with a magnetic model for Lu1-xSrxCr0.5Fe0.5O3perovskites withx= 0 andx= 0.1. We found that the ferromagnetic coupling of Fe3+and Cr4+through superexchange interactions (according the empiric Goodenough-Kanamori-Anderson rules) increases the magnetization at high fields and that the presence of ferromagnetic clusters explains the hysteretic behavior found in simulations.

Effect of B-Site Order-Disorder in the Structure and Magnetism of the New Perovskite Family La2MnB'O6 with B' = Ti, Zr, and Hf.

In this work, we report the synthesis as well as the structural and magnetic characterization of the three perovskites La2MnB'O6 (B' = Ti, Zr, and Hf). Interestingly, only La2MnTiO6 crystallizes in the monoclinic double perovskite space group P21/n, with a complete rocksalt order of the B-site cations, whereas La2MnZrO6 and La2MnHfO6 crystallize in the orthorhombic simple perovskite space group Pbnm, with complete disorder in the B site. Moreover, the magnetic susceptibility at low temperatures shows clear antiferromagnetic transitions below 10 K for the three compounds, but only the Ti-based perovskite has long-range magnetic ordering. The latter compound has an antiferromagnetic type-II structure described by the PS-1 magnetic space group, while the other two have a spin-glass behavior below the transition temperature due to both spin disorder and competing superexchange interactions in the systems. This is the first time that two of the three studied compounds were synthesized (B' = Zr and Hf) and the first time that the whole series is described in thorough detail using symmetry-adapted refinements and magnetic crystallography.

Sr2Fe1+xRe1-xO6 double perovskites: magnetoresistance and (magneto)thermopower.

Polycrystalline Sr2Fe1+xRe1-xO6 samples have been synthesized and structurally characterized by X-ray powder diffraction, transmission electron microscopy and X-ray absorption spectroscopy. Resistivity strongly increases with x, but a large and negative magnetoresistance persists up to x = 0.33. This is discussed considering the charge delocalization in iron and rhenium t2g orbitals.

Exploring weak intermolecular interactions in thiocyanate-bonded Zn(ii) and Cd(ii) complexes with methylimidazole: crystal structures, Hirshfeld surface analysis and luminescence properties.

Four new thiocyanate-Zn(ii) and -Cd(ii) complexes with 1-methylimidazole (1-MeIm) and 2-methylimidazole (2-MeIm), namely, Zn(1-MeIm)2(SCN)2 (1), Zn(2-MeIm)2(SCN)2 (2), Cd(1-MeIm)4(SCN)2 (3) and polymeric [Cd(2-MeIm)2(SCN)2] n (4), have been synthesized and characterized by IR, Raman and UV-Vis spectroscopy. The thermal behavior for all complexes was evaluated by thermo-gravimetric analysis and differential thermal analysis. The crystal structures of complexes 1-4 were solved by single-crystal X-ray diffraction methods. A study of intermolecular interactions in the solid state compounds revealed that molecules are linked by weak N-H⋯S and C-H⋯S hydrogen bonds and also by C-H⋯π interaction in the case of structures 2-4, which are responsible for the formation and stability of the molecular assemblies. Hirshfeld surfaces and 2D-fingerprint plots allowed us to visualize the intermolecular contacts and their relative contributions to the total surface for each compound. A comparative analysis against similar halogen-bonded complexes was carried out to investigate the tendency of inter-molecular interactions to form contacts in crystals by using the enrichment ratio descriptor. The emission spectra of the free imidazole derivatives and their Zn(ii) and Cd(ii) complexes were recorded in acetonitrile solutions. The emissions observed in the spectra of complexes were ascribed to the intra-ligand transitions and ligand-to-metal charge transfer and we have observed an interesting correlation between the fluorescence intensities and C-H⋯π interactions.

Magnetization reversal in mixed ferrite-chromite perovskites with non magnetic cation on the A-site.

In this work, we have performed Monte Carlo simulations in a classical model for RFe1-x Cr x O3 with R = Y and Lu, comparing the numerical simulations with experiments and mean field calculations. In the analyzed compounds, the antisymmetric exchange or Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya (DM) interaction induced a weak ferromagnetism due to a canting of the antiferromagnetically ordered spins. This model is able to reproduce the magnetization reversal (MR) observed experimentally in a field cooling process for intermediate x values and the dependence with x of the critical temperatures. We also analyzed the conditions for the existence of MR in terms of the strength of DM interactions between Fe(3+) and Cr(3+) ions with the x values variations.

Synthesis and characterization of the new two-dimensional Heisenberg antiferromagnet double perovskite BaLaCuSbO6.

The BaLaCuSbO(6) double perovskite has been successfully synthesized by solid state reaction under an air atmosphere. Its structure was refined using powder neutron diffraction in the monoclinic space group I2/m with a 4% antisite disorder on the B cations. Magnetic measurements give signs of 2D-antiferromagnetic behaviour with TN around 64 K. The Jahn-Teller distortion produced by Cu(2+) ions favours a crystallographic tetragonal distortion and consequently the in-plane super-superexchange antiferromagnetic interactions, J(90°), are favoured over the in-plane J(180°) antiferromagnetic exchange interactions. Both, J and J' magnetic interactions have been evaluated according to a Heisenberg antiferromagnetic rectangular model using an approximation to Curie's law in powers of J/T, being |J| around 10 times stronger than |J'|.

Synthesis, DFT calculations of structure, vibrational and thermal decomposition studies of the metal complex Pb[Mn(C3H2O4)2(H2O)2].

The metallo-organic complex Pb[Mn(C3H2O4)2(H2O)2] was synthesized and characterized by IR and Raman spectroscopy and powder X-ray diffraction methods. The cell parameters for the complex were determined from powder X-ray diffraction using the autoindexing program TREOR, and refined by the Le Bail method with the Fullprof program. A hexagonal unit cell was determined with a=b=13.8366(7)Å, c=9.1454(1)Å, γ=120°. The DFT calculated geometry of the complex anion [Mn(C3H2O4)2(H2O)2](2-) is very close to the experimental data reported for similar systems. The IR and Raman spectra and the thermal analysis of the complex indicate that only one type of water molecules is present in the structure. The thermal decomposition of Pb[Mn(C3H2O4)2(H2O)2] at 700 °C in air produces PbO and Pb2MnO4 as final products. The crystal structure of the mixed oxide is very similar to that reported for Pb3O4.

In1.06Ho0.94Ge2O7: a thortveitite-type compound.

A new indium holmium digermanate, In(1.06)Ho(0.94)Ge(2)O(7), with a thortveitite-type structure, has been prepared as a polycrystalline powder material by high-temperature solid-state reaction. This new compound crystallizes in the monoclinic system (space group C2/c, No. 15). The structure was characterized by Rietveld refinement of powder laboratory X-ray diffraction data. The In(3+) and Ho(3+) cations occupy the same octahedral site, forming a hexagonal arrangement on the ab plane. In their turn, the hexagonal arrangements of (In/Ho)O(6) octahedral layers are held together by sheets of isolated diortho groups comprised of double tetrahedra sharing a common vertex. In this compound, the Ge(2)O(7) diortho groups lose the ideal D(3d) point symmetry and also the C(2h) point symmetry present in the thortveitite diortho groups. The Ge-O-Ge angle bridging the diortho groups is 160.2 (3) degrees, compared with 180.0 degrees for Si-O-Si in thortveitite (Sc(2)Si(2)O(7)). The characteristic mirror plane in the thortveitite space group (C2/m, No. 12) is not present in this new thortveitite-type compound and the diortho groups lose the C(2h) point symmetry, reducing to C(2).