High-pressure synthesis of half-doped perovskites MnV_0.5Nb_0.5O₃ and MnV_0.5Ta_0.5O₃ with unusual A-site small Mn²⁺ cations

ABSTRACT

We have successfully synthesized two new half-doped perovskites, MnV_0.5Nb_0.5O₃ and MnV_0.5Ta_0.5O₃, with unique small Mn²⁺ cations at the A site under high-temperature and high-pressure conditions (6 GPa and 900–1300 °C). Synchrotron X-ray structure analysis confirmed their crystal structures to belong to the space group Pnma, and they do not exhibit features of an ordered perovskite (double perovskite) structure. Magnetic property measurements revealed an essentially antiferromagnetic nature below 17 and 18 K for both compounds, respectively, accompanied by a small contribution of thermal and magnetic field hysteresis. Electrical conductivity measurements showed activation energies of 0.13 and 0.31 eV, respectively, suggesting semiconductor-like behavior. These findings underscore the potential of these materials with unusual A-site small Mn²⁺ cations for electronic and magnetic devices, warranting further studies to explore their unique magnetic and electronic properties.

KEYWORDS:

• Perovskites
• MnVO₃
• MnV_0.5Nb_0.5O₃
• MnV_0.5Ta_0.5O₃
• synchrotron XRD
• high-pressure synthesis

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

MANA is supported by the World Premier International Research Center Initiative (WPI) of MEXT, Japan. This work was partially supported by a Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (No. JP20H05276 and JP22H04601) from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science and the Kazuchika Okura Memorial Foundation (No. 2022-11). Synchrotron radiation was used at the powder diffraction beamline BL02B2 at SPring-8, with permission from the Japan Synchrotron Radiation Research Institute (Proposal Numbers: 2021A1169, 2022A1067, and 2023A2361).