Interplay between charge and antiferromagnetic ordering in Bi0.6-xPrxCa0.4MnO3 (0 ≤ x ≤ 0.6) perovskite manganite

Structure, magnetic and transport properties of polycrystalline Bi0.6-xPrxCa0.4MnO3 (x=0.0, 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4, 0.5 and 0.6) have been studied. Systematic substitution of Pr at Bi site induces an interesting interplay between the charge ordering and antiferromagnetism. The charge ordering temperature (T-CO) decreases with increasing x. The antiferromagnetic (AFM) ordering temperature (T-N) increases sharply at both the extremes but remains nearly constant from x=0.2 to 0.4. At temperatures lower than T-N a transition to the glassy state is observed. The nature of this glass like state appears to be controlled by the Pr content, and at lower values of x this is akin to a spin glass, while at higher x it has a characteristic of cluster glass. The Pr doping also leads to enhancement in the magnetic moment. In the present work it has been proposed that the local lattice distortion induced due to size mismatch between the A-site cations and 6s(2) character of Bi3+ lone pair electron is responsible for the observed magnetic and electrical properties. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.