CRYSTAL STRUCTURE, ELECTRICAL CONDUCTIVITY AND THERMAL EXPANSION OF Pr1-xSrxFeO3-δ (0 ≤ x ≤ 0.6)

The crystal structure at room temperature (RT), thermal expansion from RT to 1000 degrees C and electrical conductivity, from RT to 600 degrees C, of the perovskite-type oxides in the system Pr1-xSrxFeO3(x = 0, 0.2, 0.4, 0.6) were studied. All the compounds have the orthorhombic perovskite GdFeO3-type structure with space group Pbnm. The lattice parameters were determined by X-ray powder diffraction. The Pseudo cubic lattice parameter decreases with an increase in x, while the coefficient of linear thermal expansion increases. The thermal expansion is almost linear for x = 0 and 0.2. The electrical conductivity increases with increasing x while the activation energy decreases. The electrical conductivity can be described by the small polaron hopping conductivity model.