Synthesis and optical properties of turquoise-and green-colored brownmilleritetype Ba_2In_（2-x-y）Mn_xAl_yO_（5＋x） codoped with manganese and aluminum

Brownmillerite-type oxides Ba_2In_（2-x-y）Mn_xAl_yO_（5＋x）（0 ≤ x ≤ 0.6, 0 ≤ y ≤ 0.5） were prepared at 1300°C through solid-state reaction. X-ray diffraction（XRD） analysis showed that the structure symmetry evolved from orthorhombic to cubic with increasing Mn and Al contents. When y was greater than 0.3, peaks associated with small amounts of BaAl_2O_4 and Ba_2InAlO_5 impurities were observed in the XRD patterns. When substituted with a small amount of Mn（x ≤ 0.3）, the Ba_2In_（2-x-y）Mn_xAl_yO_（5＋x） samples exhibited an intense turquoise color. The color changed to green and dark-green with increasing Mn concentration. UV–vis absorbance spectra revealed that the color changed only slightly upon Al doping. The valence state of Mn ions in Ba_2In_（2-x-y）Mn_xAl_yO_（5＋x） was confirmed to be ＋5 on the basis of X-ray photoelectron spectroscopic analysis. According to this analysis, the intense turquoise color of the Ba_2In_（2-x-y）Mn_xAl_yO_（5＋x） samples is rooted in the existence of Mn~（5＋）; thus, the introduction of Al does not affect the optical properties of the compounds.