Propriedades estruturais e magnéticas de cobaltitas

Abstract

In this work, structural and magnetic properties of the Co(AlxCo1-x)2O4 (0 ≤ x ≤ 0,35) e BaxA1-xCoO3-o (0 ≤ x ≤ 0,20) cobalt-based compounds in their bulk and nanostructured form prepared by the solid state reaction and co-precipitation methods are studied. In order to verify the crystalline structures of samples, X-Ray diffraction measurements (XRD) were performed. Analysis of XRD measurements using the Rietveld method allowed us to extract information on phase purity and crystalline symmetry of samples. Besides, for the case of nanostructured samples, X-ray absorption (XAS) measurements as a function of temperature were carried out in order to evaluate the crystalline field splitting. Magnetization measurements performed as function of an applied magnetic field (-70 < H < 70 kOe) and temperature (2 - 300 K) were taken for using a SQUID magnetometer. For the series of samples Co(AlxCo1-x)2O4 (0 ≤ x ≤ 0.35), the observation of an antiferromagnetic transition confirms that the Co3+ ions located at octahedral sites are low spin (S = 0). Furthermore, the evaluation of the magnetic moment from the dependence of the magnetic susceptibility with the temperature reveals that the orbital magnetic moment of Co2+ ions located on tetrahedral site is not totally quenched by the crystalline electric field. For the series of samples BaxA1-xCoO3-o (0 ≤ x ≤ 0.20, A = Ca and Mg and o = 0 or 0.4) the Rietveld refinement of the diffraction patterns shows the coexistence of BaCoO2.6 and BaCoO3 structures with space group P63/mmc. The MxH curves measured at 2 K show multiple steps with the applied magnetic field. Finally, the saturation magnetization of the measured curves is consistent with the low spin state of the Co2+ or Co4+ ions.