Crystalline structure, magnetic response and electronic properties of RE2MgTiO6 (RE = Dy, Gd) double perovskites

• New RE2MgTiO6 (RE = Dy, Gd) double perovskite is synthesized.
• Structural description of octahedral distortions from Rietveld refinement of X-ray diffraction data is performed.
• Magnetic susceptibility measurements are reported and discussed.
• The paramagnetic behavior is investigated on the basis of the Curie–Weiss adjustment.
• Theoretical calculations of the density of states reveal the semiconductor character of material.

The synthesis, crystal structure, morphology, magnetic properties and electronic calculations of two members of the family of double perovskite materials RE2MgTiO6 (RE = Dy, Gd) are described. X-ray powder diffraction measurements show that these materials crystallize in monoclinic perovskite structures with space group P21/n (#14). Unit cell parameters, atomic positions, tilt angle, inter-atomic distances and site occupancies were calculated by Rietveld through the GSAS code reveal. Lattice parameters for Dy2MgTiO6 were a = 5.3624(4) Å, b = 5.5973(2) Å and c = 7.6794(2) Å, and for Gd2MgTiO6a = 5.3143(5) Å, b = 5.5826(2) Å and c = 7.6324(2) Å. Samples morphology analyzed by scanning electron microscopy reveal strongly coupled grains with mean size 3 μm. Paramagnetic behavior is evidenced by magnetic susceptibility measurements and Curie–Weiss fitting supplies effective magnetic moments which lay 98% in agreement with the theoretical predictions for the isolated rare earth elements for each compound.