Impact of low level praseodymium substitution on the magnetic properties of YCrO3 orthochromites

Praseodymium (Pr) modified yttrium orthochromites (YCrO3 with Pr =0% and 5% at Y-sites) have been investigated with the aim of exploring the impact of low level Pr substitution on the magnetic properties including magnetization reversal, spin reorientation, and exchange bias of YCrO3 compound. The samples exhibit a distorted orthorhombic structure with Pnma space group. A negative magnetization (or magnetization reversal) was observed under zero-field cooled (ZFC) mode for the pristine YCrO3 sample, whereas such a feature disappeared with a 5% Pr substitution. In addition, the Pr-doped samples exhibited a spin reorientation behaviour which was absent in the pristine sample. Most interestingly, the ZFC magnetic hysteresis loops revealed a left and upward shift, resembling a negative exchange bias effect. These results indicate the effectiveness of low level doping in tailoring the magnetic properties of orthochromites.