title: Magnetic Interactions in the Double Perovskites R2NiMnO6 (R = Tb, Ho, Er, Tm) Investigated by Neutron Diffraction.
abstract: R2NiMnO6 (R = Tb, Ho, Er, Tm) perovskites have been prepared by soft-chemistry techniques followed by high oxygen-pressure treatments; they have been investigated by X-ray diffraction, neutron powder diffraction (NPD), and magnetic measurements. In all cases the crystal structure is defined in the monoclinic P21/n space group, with an almost complete order between Ni(2+) and Mn(4+) cations in the octahedral perovskite sublattice. The low temperature NPD data and the macroscopic magnetic measurements indicate that all the compounds are ferrimagnetic, with a net magnetic moment different from zero and a distinct alignment of Ni and Mn spins depending on the nature of the rare-earth cation. The magnetic structures are different from the one previously reported for La2NiMnO6, with a ferromagnetic structure involving Mn(4+) and Ni(2+) moments. This spin alignment can be rationalized taking into account the Goodenough-Kanamori rules. The magnetic ordering temperature (TCM) decreases abruptly as the size of the rare earth decreases, since TCM is mainly influenced by the superexchange interaction between Ni(2+) and Mn(4+) (Ni(2+)-O-Mn(4+) angle) and this angle decreases with the rare-earth size. The rare-earth magnetic moments participate in the magnetic structures immediately below TCM.
authors.affiliation: Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen , DK-2100 Copenhagen, Denmark.
authors.forename: María
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Retuerto
authors.affiliation: Universidad Carlos III , Avenida Universidad 30, E-28911 Leganés-Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Ángel
authors.initials: Á
authors.lastname: Muñoz
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Ciencia de Materiales de Madrid, C.S.I.C. , Cantoblanco, E-28049 Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: María Jesús
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Martínez-Lope
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Ciencia de Materiales de Madrid, C.S.I.C. , Cantoblanco, E-28049 Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: José Antonio
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Alonso
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Ciencia de Materiales de Madrid, C.S.I.C. , Cantoblanco, E-28049 Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Federico J
authors.initials: FJ
authors.lastname: Mompeán
authors.affiliation: Institut Laue Langevin , BP 156X, Grenoble F-38042, France.
authors.forename: María Teresa
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Fernández-Díaz
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Química Física I, Facultad de Ciencias Químicas, Universidad Complutense de Madrid , E-28040 Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Javier
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Sánchez-Benítez