Magnetic, electrical transport and structural investigations of orthorhombic perovskite Pr2MnFeO6

Substituting Mn ions in PrMnO3 by 3d-transition metal Fe ions, the structural, magnetic and magnetotransport properties are modified due to change in tolerance factor. The compound has an orthorhombic structure with the space group Pbnm. The field cooled magnetization data with temperature indicates that the compound is ferromagnetic below similar to 200 K. The variation in magnetization with applied magnetic field show a hysteresis behavior, which confirms the ferromagnetic nature. The remanent magnetization and coercive field of the compound, at 2 K, were found to be 0.6169 mu(B)/f.u. and 0.4291 T respectively. Mossbauer spectrum indicates that the Fe3+ ions are in high spin state. The temperature variation in electrical resistivity measurement shows the sample to be insulating in nature. (C) 2010 American Institute of Physics. [doi: 10.1063/1.3359441]