Structural Characteristics and Electric and Magnetic Features of the Nd 2.68 Sr 1.32 Mn 1.2 Ti 1.32 Fe 1.48 O 12 Ferromagnetic Semiconductor

The inclusion of several cations in the A and B crystallographic sites of the A4-xA′xB4-y-zB′yB′′zO12 complex perovskite gives rise to diverse physical properties, depending on the constituent elements of the material. In this work, structural, morphological, compositional, magnetic and electric characterization of the solid-reacted compound Nd2.68Sr1.32Mn1.2Ti1.32Fe1.48O12 is reported. Rietveld analysis of X-ray diffraction data revealed that this material crystallizes in an orthorhombic perovskite structure (Pnma, #62, space group). The surface morphologic study showed the formation of polycrystalline material with diverse shape of grains of 1.50 μm mean size. Compositional characterization through the energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy technique suggests that there are no other elements in the material besides the expected Nd, Sr, Mn, Ti, Fe and O, which are present in percentage proportions very close to the expected values from the material stoichiometry. E–J curves exhibit hysteretic features which are typical of the thermistor-like materials. Electric resistivity as a function of temperature showed an Arrhenius behavior also observed in doped semiconductors. Diffuse reflectance spectra revealed an optical band gap of 1.17 eV. Magnetic susceptibility measurements as a function of temperature evidenced a ferrimagnetic response, and hysteretic curves of magnetization at T = 50 K, 200 K and 300 K corroborated the occurrence of magnetic ordering, which permit to classify this material as a ferrimagnetic semiconductor with potential applicability in the spintronic device industry at room temperature.