The structural, morphological and magnetic properties of Ag-doped La0.8Ca0.2-xAgxMnO3 synthesized by sol-gel method

In this paper, The authors report the structural, morphological and magnetic properties of La0.8Ca0.2-xAgxMnO3 (x = 0, 0.03) prepared by sol-gel method. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns of samples reveal an orthorhombic perovskite structure with a space group Pnma. The lattice parameters, Mn-O bond length and unit cell volume increase with doping Ag whereas Mn-O-Mn angle decrease. The scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images show that La0.8Ca0.2MnO3 sample more porous than La0.8Ca0.17Ag0.03MnO3 sample. Analysis using energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) confirms that there is no significant difference between designated and measured composition. M-H loop hysteresis indicate both sampleare paramagnetic materials which La0.8Ca0.17Ag0.03MnO3 sample has higher susceptibility than the others.