Spin transition in LaCoO3 investigated by resonant soft X-ray emission spectroscopy

TL;DR

This study uses resonant soft X-ray emission spectroscopy to investigate the temperature-dependent spin transition in LaCoO3, revealing a change in spin state from 85 K to 300 K and stability thereafter, supported by ab-initio calculations.

Contribution

It introduces temperature-dependent resonant soft X-ray emission spectroscopy combined with ab-initio density-functional theory to analyze spin transitions in LaCoO3.

Findings

Spin state changes between 85 K and 300 K.

Spectral data consistent with theoretical models.

System remains in the same spin state above 300 K.

Abstract

The spin transition in LaCoO3 is investigated by temperature-dependent resonant soft X-ray emission spectroscopy near the Co 2p absorption edges. This element-specific technique is more bulk sensitive with respect to the temperature induced spin-state of the Co3+ ions in LaCoO3 than other high-energy spectroscopic methods. The spin transition is interpreted and discussed with ab-initio density-functional theory within the fixed-spin moment method, which is found to yield consistent spectral functions to the experimental data. The spectral changes for LaCoO3 as a function of temperature suggest a change in spin-state as the temperature is raised from 85 to 300 K while the system remains in the same spin state as the temperature is further increased to 510 K.