Lattice and Magnetic structures of PrFeAsO, PrFeAsO0.85F0.15 and PrFeAsO0.85

TL;DR

This study investigates the lattice and magnetic structures of PrFeAsO and its doped variants using neutron diffraction, revealing how doping suppresses magnetic order and structural distortion, which is crucial for understanding superconductivity in FeAs-based materials.

Contribution

It provides detailed neutron diffraction analysis of PrFeAsO and doped variants, highlighting the effects of doping on structural and magnetic properties related to superconductivity.

Findings

PrFeAsO shows a structural phase transition at 153 K.

Antiferromagnetic order appears at 127 K in PrFeAsO.

Doping suppresses structural distortion and magnetic order.

Abstract

We use powder neutron diffraction to study the spin and lattice structures of polycrystalline samples of nonsuperconducting PrFeAsO and superconducting PrFeAsO0.85F0.15 and PrFeAsO0.85. We find that PrFeAsO exhibits an abrupt structural phase transitions at 153 K, followed by static long range antiferromagnetic order at 127 K. Both the structural distortion and magnetic order are identical to other rare-earth oxypnictides. Electron-doping the system with either Fluorine or oxygen deficiency suppresses the structural distortion and static long range antiferromagnetic order, therefore placing these materials into the same class of FeAs-based superconductors.