Effect of cobalt doping in Nd1-xSrxMn1-yCoyO3

We investigate the effects of Co substitutions the associated magnetic phase changes and the orthorhombic lattice distortions in Nd0.6Sr0.4Mn1-xCoxO3. The effect of Co substitutions on the magnetic state and the orthorhombic lattice distortions has been studied. The orthorhombic distortion is found to be maximum (7.377 × 10-3) for the pure manganite phase and decreases almost linearly with Co doping, reaching its minimum value 1.044 × 10-3 1.044 × 10-3 for the pure cobaltites. Similar behavior has been found for unite cell volume. Since Co may have several oxidation states, it may also affect the (Mn4+/Mn3+) ratio, the double magnetic exchange interaction, the magnetic state and metal insulator transition.