Electrical, Magnetic and Catalytic Investigations on Some Manganite Perovskites Prepared by Combustion Method

AMnO3, (A=Sr, Sm and Nd) manganites with perovskite structure, prepared by combustion method were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), infra-red spectroscopy Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) surface area analyzer and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The solid state and spectroscopic studies such as electrical resistivity, magnetic susceptibility, electron spin resonance (ESR) and diffuse reflectance spectroscopy were carried out and attempted to correlate with the catalytic activities of the compounds. To evaluate the catalytic activity, a model reaction of CO oxidation over these compounds was undertaken. An attempt was made to understand the effect of A-site change by different metal cations in the manganite perovskites on solid state and catalytic properties.