Effect of different synthesis techniques on structural, magnetic and magneto-transport properties of Pr0.7Sr0.3MnO3 manganite

We investigated the effect of different synthesis techniques on the structural, magnetic and magneto-transport properties of Pr0.7Sr0.3MnO3 (PSMO) samples. The samples were synthesized by three different techniques: solid state reaction, sol-gel and chemical Co-precipitation method. XRD studies confirmed the single phase formation of PSMO by all three techniques. It was also found that the magnetotransport properties of PSMO strongly depended on the synthesis techniques. A substantial decrease in the insulator-metal transition temperature (T-IM) and an enhancement in resistivity were observed in the samples synthesized through co-precipitation method as compared to solid state and sol-gel synthesized samples. Furthermore, a reduction in magnetization and a decrease in paramagnetic-ferromagnetic (PM-FM) transition temperatures (T-C) were also noticed in co-precipitation method synthesized sample. In all three studied techniques, the sample synthesized by co-precipitation method exhibited the highest magnetoresistance (similar to 63%).