D.A. Landínez Téllez

STRUCTURAL, MAGNETIC AND ELECTRONIC PROPERTIES OF THE Sr2CoNbO6 COMPLEX PEROVSKITE

We report a study of crystallographic parameters of the Sr2CoNbO6 double perovskite obtained from Rietveld analysis of X-ray diffraction data and electronic properties predictions using the density functional theory (DFT). The Sr2CoNbO6 material was prepared by the citrate precursor method. Diffraction analysis reveal that this material crystallizes in a structure which is tetragonal with lattice parameters a = 5.5960(3) A and c = 7.9881(1) A (space group I4/m). The density of states of Sr2CoNbO6 tetragonal distorted structure was calculated using DFT within the generalized gradient approximation. Results predict the semiconductor characteristics of this material which is majority due to the 3d-Co orbital with a energy gap of 0.2 eV. Structural lattice parameters obtained from the Rietveld refinement present a matching of 97% with that obtained from the Structure Prediction Diagnostic Software and 98% with the theoretical DFT results. Measurements of magnetization as a function of temperature evidence the occurrence of a magnetic ordering transition at T = 220 K and a marked irreversibility with a blocking temperature of 250 K for applied fields up to 100 Oe, which disappears for higher fields. Electronic paramagnetic resonance experiments evidence that the valence Co3+ is the most possible in the synthesized material.