Structural, Morphological and Magnetic Investigation of Half-Doped La0.5Ba0.5MnO3 Perovskite Nanoparticles

Abstract

This study investigated the effect of barium (Ba) substitution for lanthanum (La) on the magnetic properties of the half-doped perovskite manganite compound La0.5Ba0.5MnO3 (LBMO). The LBMO sample was prepared via the sol-gel method and sintered in air at 1000°C for 24 hours. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM)-energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) analysis revealed random formation of BaMnO3 nanorods on the LBMO surface. The LBMO perovskite exhibited a particle size distribution of approximately 60 nm, while the BaMnO3 nanorods possessed widths ranging from 100-250 nm and lengths between 5-20 μm. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis found that the main perovskite compound (LBMO) exhibits a cubic crystal structure (a = 3.9108 Å), while the nanorods (BaMnO3) possess a hexagonal crystal structure (a = 5.6454 Å, c = 4.8224 Å). The Curie temperature (TC) was determined to be approximately 330 K, close to room temperature, zero field cooling (ZFC) and field cooling (FC) curves to elucidate the magnetic properties. Furthermore, magnetization measurements yielded a magnetic entropy change (-ΔSM) of 0.62 J/kgK at 1 T and 2.25 J/kgK at 6 T.