Structural and electrical transport properties of (1-x) La0.7Sr0.3Mn0.95Co0.05O3 (LSMCO) + (x) ZnO (x = 0%, 6%, 9%, 12%, 15% & 18%) composites

In this communication, we report the structural and electrical transport properties of (1-x) La0.7Sr0.3Mn0.95Co0.05O3 (LSMCO) + (x) ZnO (x = 0%, 6%, 9%, 12%, 15% & 18%) composites. For the preparation of (1-x) LSMCO + (x) ZnO (x = 6%, 9%, 12%, 15% & 18%) composites, sample of LSMCO was prepared by the auto combustion technique/inexpensive modified sol-gel technique. The results of Rietveld refined XRD data show that LSMCO sample possesses a rhombohedral structure with the R-3c space group whereas ZnO compound remains with hexagonal structure with the P63mc space group in all the composite samples. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) show that no any extra unwanted phase was observed in each composite excluding the LSMCO and ZnO phases. ZnO is mostly distributed at the grain boundaries and on the surface of the LSMCO grains. Elemental presence and ratio was confirmed through the EDX analysis. The electrical resistivity of LSMCO and each composite was measured in the temperature range of 2 K–320 K at 0 Oe, 10 kOe, 50 kOe & 90 kOe magnetic field. The results indicate that the ZnO addition increases the resistivity of all the composites compare to that of pure LSMCO. The electrical resistivity explored by the theoretical model below TMI and fitting enlightenment for the observed behavior is transmitted here in detail.