Spin-glass transition in a La-doped Sr2MnWO6 double perovskite

Journal article, 2008

Polycrystalline Sr2-xLaxMnWO6 (x=0.25 and 0.5) materials have been prepared by a traditional solid state sintering method and studied by neutron powder diffraction (NPD) and magnetization measurements. Rietveld analysis of the temperature dependent NPD data shows that the compounds crystallize in monoclinic symmetry (space group P2(1)/n). The unit cell volume decreases with increasing La3+ concentration at the A site. The crystal structure contains alternating MnO6 and WO6 octahedra, considerably tilted due to the relative small size of the cations that occupy the A sublattice of the perovskite. ac and dc magnetization measurements show a destruction of the low temperature antiferromagnetic phase by electron doping through substitution of Sr2+ for La3+. The electron doping creates a mixed tungsten valence (W6+/W5+) resulting in a low temperature spin-glass state.