Magnetic properties of the perovskite compounds YFe1-,CrxO3 (0.5≤x≤1)

Powder oxides with the formula YFe1-xCrxO3 (0.5 < x less than or equal to 1) have been studied. The samples have been prepared using the ceramic solid state reaction in air. The X-ray diffraction spectra indicated that the samples crystallise in the perovskite structure with orthorhombic deformation. The magnetic properties of these materials are concentration and temperature dependent. Zero-field-cooled and field-cooled magnetization curves show strong irreversibilities and complex hysteresis loops. The saturation magnetization for the mixed compounds shows a unusual behaviour. The results are discussed by considering the existence of many weak ferromagnetic components induced by the random distribution of the transition metal cations in the octahedral site. This leads to frustration interactions and short-range order that smooth the phase transition. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.