Crystal-field interaction and oxygen stoichiometry effects in strontium-doped rare-earth cobaltates

TL;DR

This study uses inelastic neutron scattering to analyze how crystal-field interactions and oxygen deficiencies influence the properties of strontium-doped rare-earth cobaltates, revealing consistent crystal-field parameters across the series.

Contribution

It provides a detailed interpretation of crystal-field parameters in doped cobaltates considering oxygen deficiencies, extending understanding across the rare-earth series.

Findings

Energy spectra result from superposition of different oxygen coordination environments.

Crystal-field parameters vary consistently across the rare-earth series.

Oxygen deficiencies significantly affect the crystal-field interactions.

Abstract

Inelastic neutron scattering was employed to study the crystal-field interaction in the strontium-doped rare-earth compounds R(x)Sr(1-x)CoO(3-z) (R=Pr, Nd, Ho, and Er). Particular emphasis is laid on the effect of oxygen deficiencies which naturally occur in the synthesis of these compounds. The observed energy spectra are found to be the result of a superposition of crystal fields with different nearest-neighbor oxygen coordination at the R sites. The experimental data are interpreted in terms of crystal-field parameters which behave in a consistent manner through the rare-earth series, thereby allowing a reliable extrapolation for rare-earth ions not considered in the present work.