Investigation of phonon behavior in Pr2NiMnO6 by micro-Raman spectroscopy

TL;DR

This study investigates phonon behavior and weak spin-phonon coupling in Pr2NiMnO6 using micro-Raman spectroscopy, revealing temperature-dependent phonon hardening and a single magnetic transition at 228 K.

Contribution

It provides new insights into the phonon dynamics and magnetic coupling in Pr2NiMnO6, a double perovskite, through detailed temperature-dependent Raman and magnetometry analysis.

Findings

Single ferromagnetic-to-paramagnetic transition at 228 K

Observation of three Raman modes at 657, 642, and 511 cm-1

Weak spin-phonon coupling evidenced by minimal phonon softening

Abstract

The temperature dependence of phonon excitations and the presence of spin phonon coupling in polycrystalline Pr2NiMnO6 samples were studied using micro-Raman spectroscopy and magnetometry. Magnetic properties show a single ferromagnetic-to-paramagnetic transition at 228 K and a saturation magnetization close to 4.95 \muB/f.u.. Three distinct Raman modes at 657, 642, and 511 cm-1 are observed. The phonon excitations show a clear hardening due to anharmonicity from 300 K down to 10 K. Further, temperature dependence of the 657 cm-1 mode shows only a small softening. This reflects the presence of a relatively weak spin-phonon coupling in Pr2NiMnO6 contrary to other double perovskites previously studied.