Temperature dependent electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) of SrZrO3

• Gel-combustion synthesis of SrZrO3 perovskite at relatively low temperature.
• EPR evidence for ferromagnetic resonance.
• Positive sign of the Curie–Weiss temperature ~8.7 K.
• Defect induced magnetism- Zirconium vacancy induces maximum magnetic moment.

SrZrO3 (SZO), a distorted perovskite was synthesized using gel-combustion route employing citric acid as a fuel and ammonium nitrate as oxidizer followed by characterization using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR). Purity of the sample is confirmed by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP-AES) analysis. Broadening and shift of the resonance field position in EPR spectrum to the lower field was observed as the temperature is lowered; which is the characteristic of ferromagnetic resonance spectra. The value of Curie–Weiss temperature obtained for SZO particles is 8.7 K. The positive sign of the Curie–Weiss temperature indicates that some of the spins are ferromagnetically coupled in this sample. Theoretical investigation using density functional theory (DFT) calculation revealed that Vacancy at zirconium site contribute maximum to the magnetic moment.

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