Structure and magnetism across the Sr 2- x Ba x NiOsO 6 phase diagram: Understanding magnetic superexchange between first and third row transition metal ions
The crystal chemistry and magnetism of compositions in the Sr 2-x Ba x NiOsO 6 phase diagram have been investigated to better understand the superexchange interactions between 3d and 5d transition metal ions. Compositions with x < 1.35 crystallize with the double perovskite structure, while those with x > 1.83 crystallize in a trigonal structure that is a cation ordered variant of the 6H hexagonal perovskite structure. The Sr-rich double perovskites undergo a cubic to tetragonal distortion upon cooling that is driven by out-of-phase octahedral tilting. The tetragonal distortion occurs upon cooling below 650 K in Sr 2 NiOsO 6 . The temperature of this transition decreases as the barium content increases and is completely suppressed for x ≥ 1.2. All compositions in the double perovskite region become spin glasses below T g ≈ 40 K, due to the competition between ferromagnetic Ni–Os and antiferromagnetic Ni–Ni and Os–Os superexchange interactions. The double perovskite compositions that are rich in barium, like Sr 0.8 Ba 1.2 NiOsO 6 show some signs of magnetic ordering in small clusters, but the presence of Ba/Sr disorder inhibits long-range magnetic order. Trigonal Ba 2 NiOsO 6 orders ferrimagnetically below T C = 108 K. In conclusion, the magnetic structure of this compound contains ferromagnetic ~180° Ni–O–Os interactions and antiferromagnetic ~90° Ni–O–Os interactions, both in agreement with the Goodenough-Kanamori rules.